Bentivolio Critical of Obama's Proposed Gun Laws

U.S. Rep. Kerry Bentivolio, R-Milford, criticized plans announced Wednesday by President Barack Obama indicating strict gun control measures. Bentivolio represents Michigan's 11th Congressional District, which includes Novi and Northville.

“President Obama lives in a city with some of the strictest anti-gun laws in the country and, yet also has one of the highest rates of gun violence," Bentivolio said Wednesday in a statement. "The best defense against a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun who is trained properly. It’s important that we do thorough background checks to keep guns out of the hands of those who should not have them. However, it would be dangerous to restrict the rights of law-abiding citizens who want to purchase a firearm."

According to the White House fact sheet, Obama’s plan includes:

• Reinstating and strengthening the assault weapons ban.
• Restoring a 10-round limit on ammunition magazines.
• Getting rid of armor-piercing bullets.
• Ending a freeze on research into gun violence.
• Providing additional tools to prevent and prosecute gun crime.
• Calling on Congress to pass a $4 billion proposal to help communities keep 15,000 police officers on the streets, as well as new gun trafficking legislation that would “impose serious penalties on those who help get guns into the hands of criminals."
• Making schools safer by giving communities the opportunity to hire up to 1,000 school resource officers and school counselors.

Bentivolio also was critical of the White House's role in drafting these gun law measures.

"President Obama’s job is to execute the laws passed by Congress, not write laws from the Oval Office," Bentivolio said in a statement. "Any regulations on guns should be debated in Congress, and during that debate I will be a strong advocate for gun owners and the Second Amendment."