Jan 7, 2016:

CNN hosted a nationally televised "Guns in America" town hall meeting on gun control moderated by Anderson Cooper giving President Obama the opportunity to discuss his views and recent actions on gun violence in the United States. In the audience were about 100 people, from both sides of the gun violence debate, invited to attend by CNN.

When invited by CNN to be present and participate in the town hall meeting, NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam responded "The National Rifle Association sees no reason to participate in a public relations spectacle orchestrated by the White House". According to CNN, CNN proposed the idea of a town hall meeting on gun violence, not the White House. CNN also stated that the audience would be evenly divided between organizations that support the Second Amendment, including NRA members, as well as groups that back gun regulation.

Here are a few highlights from the meeting:

Talking about how the gun control debate is framed by the NRA and gun advocates Obama said:

The way it is described is that we are trying to take away everybody's guns...our position is consistently mischaracterized.

Talking about his recent actions Obama said:

And what we ultimately need, I believe, is for Congress to set up a system that is efficient, that doesn't inconvenience the lawful gun seller, or purchaser, but, that makes sure that we're doing the best background check possible. And, the fact, Anderson, the system may not catch every single person, or there may be a circumstance where somebody doesn't think that they have to register, or do, and that may cause some red tape, and bureaucracy for them -- which -- or inconvenience, has to be weighed against the fact that we may be able to save a whole bunch of families from the grief that some of the people in this audience have had to go through. And, keep in mind, for the gun owners who are in attendance here, my suspicion is that you all had to go through a background check. And it didn't prevent you from getting a weapon. And, the notion that you should have to do that, but there are a whole bunch of folks who are less responsible than you who don't have to do it doesn't make much sense.

And so if we can combine gun safety with sensible background checks and some other steps, we're not going to eliminate gun violence, but we will lessen it. And if we take that number from 30,000 down to, let's say, 28,000, that's 2,000 families who don't have to go through what the families at Newtown or San Bernardino or Charleston went through.

Obama talked about the "gun show loophole", and how it has gone from its original intent of allowing gun collectors and hobbyists to purchase without a background check, to some people "gaming" the system and purchasing large volumes of guns at gun shows (without a background check) and reselling them on the street or elsewhere (he gave an example of someone purchasing guns in neighboring Indiana at a gun show, where no background check is required, and then selling those guns on the streets of Chicago).

When asked by an audience member "And, how do we get those with mental illness, and criminals, that's the real problem here, how are we going to get them to follow the laws?", Obama responded:

Look, crime is always going to be with us. So, I think it's really important for us not to suggest that if we can't solve every crime, we shouldn't try to solve any crimes.

Taya Kyle, the widow of Chris Kyle (the former Navy SEAL and author of American Sniper) was in the audience and spoke for a while. She talked about "hope" that changes to existing gun laws and the right to own a gun for self-defense will help keep people safer. She also noted that the murder rate in the U.S. has come down significantly while gun ownership is at an all-time high (noting that the two are not necessarily correlated). Obama responded:

Now, I challenge the notion that the reason for that is because there's more gun ownership, because if you look at where are the areas with the highest gun ownership, those are the places in some cases where the crime rate hasn't dropped down that much. And the places where there's pretty stiff restrictions on gun ownership, in some of those places, the crime has dropped really quickly. So I'm not sure that there's a one-to-one correlation there. But I think the most important point I want to make is that you will be able to purchase a firearm.

Kimberly Corban, a rape survivor, was in the audience and asked "So why can't your administration see that these restrictions that you're putting to make it harder for me to own a gun, or harder for me to take that where I need to be is actually just making my kids and I less safe?". Obama responded:

I just want to repeat that there's nothing that we've proposed that would make it harder for you to purchase a firearm. And -- now, you may be referring to issues like concealed carry, but those tend to be state-by-state decisions, and we're not making any proposals with respect to what states are doing. They can make their own decisions there. So there really is no -- nothing we're proposing that prevents you or makes it harder for you to purchase a firearm if you need one.

Read a transcript of the entire 73-minute town hall meeting here.

View a U.S. map of which states require background checks at guns shows and which don't here.

A pause in the shouting: Obama, critics connect at CNN's town hall on guns | CNN

NRA declines to participate in Obama gun town hall | CNN

Obama lashes out at NRA for skipping town hall on guns | The Hill

Jan 5, 2016:

At a White House press conference, President Obama announced executive actions on gun control. Watch selected clips of his announcement or read a full transcript here.

A Fact Sheet entitled "New Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence and Make Our Communities Safer" details Obama's plan. Here's a summary:

1. Keep guns out of the wrong hands through background checks.
   • Clarify that it doesn’t matter where you conduct your business—from a store, at gun shows, or over the Internet: If you’re in the business of selling firearms, you must get a license and conduct background checks.
     • The official criteria for who is in fact "engaged in the business" of selling guns (and therefore requiring a license to sell) will be based on more than just the amount of gun sales (other factors and evidence will play a part).
     • There are criminal penalties for selling guns without a license (fines and imprisonment).
   • Require background checks for people trying to buy some of the most dangerous weapons and other items through a trust or corporation.
     • The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is updating current regulations so that individuals will no longer be able to avoid background checks by acquiring guns through trusts, corporations, and other legal entities.
   • Ensure States are providing records to the background check system, and work cooperatively with jurisdictions to improve reporting.
   • Make the background check system more efficient and effective.
     • The FBI will increase it's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) staff by 50%.
     • With the assistance of the U.S. Digital Service (USDS), NICS will be upgraded so more background checks can be completed in the three-day period before a dealer can legally sell a gun even if a background check is not completed.
2. Make our communities safer from gun violence.
   • Ensure smart and effective enforcement of our gun laws.
     • President Obama's budget for FY2017 will include funding for 200 new ATF agents and investigators.
     • ATF dedication of $4 million and additional personnel to enhance the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) to help analysts and investigators link violent crimes across jurisdictions, track down shooters, and make connections between ballistic crime scene evidence and crime guns locally, regionally, and nationally.
     • The establishment of an Internet Investigations Center (IIC) by the ATF to track illegal online firearms trafficking (including the "dark net").
   • Ensure that dealers notify law enforcement about the theft or loss of their guns.
   • Issue a memo directing every U.S. Attorney’s Office to renew domestic violence outreach efforts.
3. Increase mental health treatment and reporting to the background check system.
   • Dedicate significant new resources to increase access to mental health care.
   • Include information from the Social Security Administration in the background check system about beneficiaries who are prohibited from possessing a firearm.
   • Remove unnecessary legal barriers preventing States from reporting relevant information to the background check system.
4. Shape the future of gun safety technology.
   • Issue a Presidential Memorandum directing the Department of Defense, Department of Justice, and Department of Homeland Security to take two important steps to promote smart gun technology.
     • Increase research and development efforts.
     • Promote the use and acquisition of new technology.

In response to Obama's announcement, Speaker of the U.S House of Representatives Paul Ryan issued a press release entitled "Statement on President Obama's Executive Order to Undermine Second Amendment". Here's a full transcript of the press release:

From day one, the president has never respected the right to safe and legal gun ownership that our nation has valued since its founding. He knows full well that the law already says that people who make their living selling firearms must be licensed, regardless of venue. Still, rather than focus on criminals and terrorists, he goes after the most law-abiding of citizens. His words and actions amount to a form of intimidation that undermines liberty.

No matter what President Obama says, his word does not trump the Second Amendment. We will conduct vigilant oversight. His executive order will no doubt be challenged in the courts. Ultimately, everything the president has done can be overturned by a Republican president, which is another reason we must win in November.

We know that the president wants to spend this year offering distractions from his failed record. We will not allow this strategy to take us off course from giving the American people a clear choice with a bold policy agenda.

GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz called Obama's actions "unconstitutional", and a page on the Ted Cruz website entitled "Obama Wants Your Guns" along with the subtitle "SUPPORT THE PROTECTION OF YOUR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS!" shows Obama dressed in a military jacket and helmet looking just a bit ominous.

NPR's The Diane Rehm Show aired a one-hour program entitled "President Obama Considers Executive Action On Gun Control".

Diane's guests were:

• Juliet Eilperin, White House correspondent for The Washington Post
• Richard Feldman, president of the Independent Firearm Owners Association
• Eric Lichtblau, reporter for The New York Times
• Ladd Everitt, director of communications for The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence

More:

• Gun Show Managers Split on Obama's New Policy | Time
• Obama: Violent felons can buy guns online without background checks | Politifact
• Cruz: Obama is 'not telling the truth' about guns | CNN
• How the NRA and gun manufacturers work together to scam gun owners | The Week
• GOP 2016 candidates bash Obama's gun control push | CNN
• Emotional Obama calls for 'sense of urgency' to fight gun violence | CNN
• GOP scrambles for response to Obama's gun control actions | The Hill
• Guns In America, By The Numbers | NPR