Volume 89 | Issue 9 | obiter-dicta.ca
The Definitive Source for Osgoode News since 1928
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
ADDRESSING THE GUN EPIDEMIC
IN THE UNITED STATES:
The Role of Public Health in President
Obama’s Executive Orders.
ê Photo credit: indianexpress.com
- jerico
espinas
On 4 January 2016, President Obama announced
a series of executive orders that are meant to
address what he calls an “epidemic of gun violence” in the United States. He justified these
orders by refer r i ng to t he block i ng of g u n
reforms in the United States congress despite
the increasing number of violent public shootings and deaths related to gun violence.
T he s e order s a re d iv ide d i nto fou r
mai n actions. Fi rst, the cu rrent backgrou nd
check system will be overhauled. The Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
will increase the scope of background checks
in the purchase of firearms, and the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will make these
background checks more effective and efficient.
Second, President Obama wants to make communities safer from gun violence through better
en forcement of gu n laws. These wi l l i nclude
200 new AT F agents a nd i nvestigators, new
initiatives from the ATF to tackle illegal trafficking of firearms, as well as initiatives in the
Attorney General’s office to increase domestic
violence outreach.
T h i rd, t he con nect ion
between gun violence and mental health will
be addressed through increased mental health
treatments a nd better i ncor porati ng menta l
health into background checks. This order will
include a proposed $500 million investment to
increase access to mental health care, and better
mechanisms to report individuals who illegally
» continued on page 9
In this Issue ...
editorial
Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights . . . . . . 2
news
Access to Justice and the Data Deficit . . . . . 4
opinion
The Monkey Selfie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
arts & culture
Anatomy of a Murder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
sports
The year that was…in sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 16