US Gun Laws the Greatest Frustration of my Presidency

President Barack Obama – BBCNews

President Barack Obama has admitted that his failure to pass “common sense gun safety laws” in the US is the greatest frustration of his presidency.

In an interview with the BBC, Mr Obama said it was “distressing” not to have made progress on the issue “even in the face of repeated mass killings”.

He vowed to keep trying, but the BBC’s North America editor Jon Sopel said the president did not sound very confident.

However, Mr Obama said race relations had improved during his presidency.

You can read the full transcript of the BBC’s exclusive interview with President Obama here: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-33646542

Dylann Storm Roof appears via video before a judge, in Charleston, S.C., on June 19, 2015. (AP)

How Dylann Roof Got His Gun

The Editorial Board – The Chicago Tribune

Last month, gunshots took the lives of nine people attending a Bible class at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Police soon arrested Dylann Roof, a 21-year-old white supremacist, and recovered a .45-caliber pistol from his car….

Roof had bought a Glock handgun legally from a dealer in April, after undergoing the background check required by federal law. It is supposed to flag people prohibited from owning guns — notably convicted felons, people who have been committed to mental institutions and drug users.

But the FBI, which administers the system, says he should not have been allowed to make the purchase, because he had previously admitted to illegal drug possession. Director James Comey said the sale was allowed to go through only because “the data was not properly entered in federal criminal justice computer systems.” …

But this deadly lapse underscores the importance of making sure the National Instant Criminal Background Check System is exactly that.

Right now, it isn’t.