So, the new President has transplanted his proposed policies from his own site directly to the official White House site. Under the "Urban Policies" header, we have a blueprint for his ideas on gun control.
Spin: Obama and Biden would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement to access important gun trace information, and give police officers across the nation the tools they need to solve gun crimes and fight the illegal arms trade.
Fact: This is a defacto gun registry. The Federal government will have access to all information a buyer includes on Form 4473, without having to obtain a warrant or prove cause. Remember, Obama voted for the Patriot Act, which included the ability of the government to engage in wiretaps on citizens without warrants.
Spin: Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals.
Fact: For Obama, “common sense” measures have included total registration, blanket bans on handguns and “assault” rifles, and a nationwide ban on concealed carry.
Spin: They support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof.
Fact: Only 2% of guns used in crimes come from gun shows.
“Childproofing” was part of Washington DC’s onerous regulations, which were ruled unconstitutional in last year’s Supreme Court decision, DC vs. Heller.
Spin: They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent.
Fact: Of course they do; Biden authored the original AWB, which did nothing to reduce firearms-related crime. Violent crime in the United States had been steadily declining since 1992, and continued to decline after the sunset of the original ban.
None of this is anything new. This stuff is all taken directly from the Brady Campaign's playbook. The real question is, can they achieve any of it?
It seems highly unlikely that they'll try.