Obama unveils sweeping plans to curb gun violence

Braced for a fight, President Barack Obama last night unveiled the most sweeping proposals for curbing gun violence in two decades, pressing a reluctant Congress to pass universal background checks and bans on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines like the ones used in the Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting.

A month after the massacre, Obama also used his presidential powers to enact 23 measures that don’t require the backing of policymakers.

Obama’s executive actions include ordering federal agencies to make more data available for background checks, appointing a director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and directing the Centres for Disease Control to research gun violence.