some. just as we don't prevent all traffic accidents but we take steps to try to reduce traffic accidents. as ronald reagan once said if mandatory background checks could save more lives it's well worth making it the law of the land. the bill before congress a few years ago, met that test, but too many senators failed theirs. [ applause ] in fact we know that a background check makes a difference, gun deaths decreased by 40%. 40%.

meanwhile, since missouri repealed, gun deaths have decreased to 50% higher than the national average. one study found unsurprisingly that criminals in missouri have easier access to guns. and the evidence that tells us that states that require background checks, they have no problem buying guns. their rights have not been infringed and their guns are not confiscated. with more research we could improve gun safety. just like we have reduced traffic fatalities over the last 40 years. we do research when cars, food and medicine and even toys harm people and we make them safer, you know what? research and science are good

things they work. they do. [ applause ] >> but think about this, when it comes to an inherently deadly weapon. nobody argues that guns are potentially deadly, weapons that kill tens of thousands of american every year, congress voted to make it harder for public health experts to conduct research into gun violence, made it harder to collect data and facts. and develop strategies to reduce gun violence. even after san bernardino, they have refused to make it harder for terrorist suspects who can't get on a plane to buy semi automatic weapons.

that's not right. that can't be right. that can't be right. so the gun lobby may be holding congress hostage but they don't have to hold america hostage. we do not have to accept this carnage as a price for freedom. [ applause ] now i want to be clear, congress still needs to act. now, i want to be clear congress still needs to act. the folks in this room will not

rest until congress does. [ applause ] because because once congress gets on board, with common sense gun safety measures, we can reduce gun violence a whole lot more. but we also can't wait. until we have a congress that is in line with the majority of americans there are actions within my legal authority we can take to reduce gun violence and save more lives. actions that protect our rights and our kids. after sandy hook, joe and i worked together with our teams and we put forward a whole series of executive actions to try to tighten up the existing rules and systems that we had in

place. but today we want to take it a step further, let me outline what we are going to be doing. number one anyone in the business of selling firearms must have a license and conduct background checks or be subject to criminal prosecution. [ applause ] it doesn't matter whether you are doing it over the internet or is the gun show it's not where you do it, but what you do. we are also expanding background checks for criminals that try to buy dangerous weapons hiding behind corporations and various cutouts. we are also taking steps to make

the background check system more efficient. under the guidance of jim comey and the fbi and our deputy dire director, at atf we'll hire more folks to process applications faster and bring an out dated background system into the 21st century. plausz applause and these steps will actually lead the way to a smoother process for law abiding gun owners and a smoother process for gun dealers and protecting the people from dangerous people. that is number one. number two, we'll do everything we can to assure the smart and effective enforcement of gun laws on the books, we'll add 200

more investigators and require firearms dealers to report more lost or stolen guns on a timely basis, we are working with advocates to protect victims of domestic abuse from gun violence, where too often -- [ applause ] -- where too often people are not getting the protection they need. we'll do more to help those suffering from mental illness get the help that they need. [ applause ] high-profile mass shootings shine the light on the few people that inflict harm on others, but the truth is two of three gun deaths are from suicides. so our work is to prevent people from hurting themselves.

so with the affordable care act also known as obama care. under that law made sure that treatment for mental health was treated the same as other illnesses. we'll expand the act across the country. [ applause ] also why we're goio it's also why we are going to assure that the mental health system is subject to the background system and making them report information, if we can destigmatize mental health, we can help stop losing a loved ones from suicide. those in congress that rush to blame mental illness for mass

shootings, here is your chance to support these efforts, put your money where your mouth is. [ applause ] >> number four, we are going to boost gun safety technology, many gun injuries and deaths are the result of legal guns stolen or miss used or discharged accidentsly. more than 40,000 people lost their lives to gun violence, including 30 children under 5 years old. the most technically advanced nation notice world, there is no need for this, we need technology to make guns safer, if you can set it up that you can't unlock your phone unless you have the right fingerprint, why can't we do the same thing for our guns. [ applause ]

if there's an app that can if there is an app that can help us find a missing tablet that helps to me often, the older i get -- [ laughter ] -- if we can do it for your ipad there is no reason we can't do it with a stolen gun. if a child can't open a bottle of aspirin, we should make sure they can't pull a trigger a gun. we are going to advance research and work with the private sector to update firearms technology. and some gun retailers are already stepping up by refusing to finalize a purchase without a complete background check or

refaining from selling semi automatic weapons or high capacity magazines, i hope that more retailers join them, they should care as much as anything about a product that kills almost as many americans as car accidents. i make this point because none of us can do this alone. i think mark made that point earlier, all of us should be able to work together to find a balance that declares the rest of our rights are also important. second amendment rights are important. but there are other rights we care about as well. we have to be able to balance them. because our right to worship freely and safely that right was denied to christians in

charleston, south carolina, and that was denied jews in kansas city, and that was denied muslims in chapel hill and in creek -- they had rights too -- [ applause ] our right to peaceful assembly, that right was robbed from movie goers in aurora, and lafayette. our right to the pursuit of happiness and freedom was stripped from college kids in blacksburg and santa barbara, and high schoolers in columbine. and from first graders in newtown. first graders --

and from every from every family who never imagined their loved one would be taken from our lives by a bullet from a gun. every time i think about those kids, it gets me mad. and by the way it happens on the streets of chicago every day. [ applause ] so all of us need to demand a congress brave enough to stand up to the gun lobby's lies, all of us to stan up and protect its

citizens and demand governors and legislators and businesses do their part to make our community safer. we need the wide majority of responsible gun owner who's grieve with us every time this happens and feel like your views are not properly represented to join with us to demand something better. [ applause ] and we need voters who want safer gun laws and who are disappointed in leaders that stand in their way remember come election time. [ applause ] i mean some of this is just simple math. yes the gun lobby is loud and

organized in defense of making it effortless for guns to be available for anybody any time. well you know what the rest of us we all have to be just as passionate, we have to be just as organized in the defense of our kids, this is not that complicated. the reason congress balks laws is because they want to win elections. and if you make it hard for them to win an election if they bought the laws, they will change course i promise you. [ applause ] and yes, it will >> and yes it will be hard. and it won't happen overnight.

it won't happen during this congress. it won't happen during my presidency. a lot of things don't happen overnight. a woman's right didn't happen overnight. liberation of african-americans didn't happen overnight. lbgt rights, that was decades worth of work. so just because it's hard is no excuse not to try. if you are ever in any doubt as to why you should feel that fierce urgency of now, think about what happened three weeks ago.

xzavi xzavion dobson was a sophomore in tennessee, he played football beloved by his classmates and teachers, his own mayor called him one of their city's success stories. the week before christmas he headed to a friend's house to play video games, he wasn't in the wrong place at the wrong time and did not make a bad decision, he was exactly where any kid could be, your kid, my kids, and then gunmen started firing, and xzavion who was in high school hadn't even gotten started in life, dove on top of three girls to shield them from the bullets. and he was shot in the head and the girls were spared.

he gave his life to save theirs. and act of heroism, a lot bigger than anything we should ever expect from a 15-year-old.ove greater love have no man than this than a man laying down his life for his friends. we are not asked to do what xafon dobson did. we are not asked to have shoulders that big or a heart that strong or reactions that quick. i'm not asking people to have that same level of courage or sacrifice or love. but if we love our kids and care about their prospects and love this country and care about its future, then we can fine the courage to vote and get

mobilized and get organized and fine the courage to cut through the noise, and do what a sensible country would do. that is what we are doing today. and tomorrow we should do more, and we should do more the day after that. and if we do, we leave behind a nation that is stronger by the one we inherited and worthy of the sacrifice of a young man like xzavion. thank you very much everybody, god bless you. thank you. >> good afternoon you have been watching as president obama announces new gun measures at the white house. >> i'm rick williams along with sara bloomquist, this is "action news" at noon, the president was surrounded by victims of gun violence among other things, that the president introduced an executive order that requires

more gun dealers to register with the atf nationwide and hopes it expands the number of gun sales subject to background checks and cited recent mass shootings in the u.s. including the one in san bernardino, california. >> we are the only advanced country on earth that sees this kind of mass violence erupt with this kind of frequency. and instead of think being how to solve the problem, this has become one of our most polarized partisan debates. >> the president took executive action to enact the new laws, drawing criticism from republican, that he oversteps his authority and undermines the second amendment. >> the other big story of the day is the bitter cold, temperatures are stuck below freezing as we take a live look from our temple university camera, earlier today windchills

made it feel below zero almost everywhere. lets check in with meteorologist, karen rogers in for david murphy. >> if you have been waiting for it to feel like winter, this is your big chance, look at these windchills this morning, 25 degrees below zero in mt. pocono, and doylestown minus 7 and no one was spared here and atlantic city minus 5, and philadelphia minus 4, and it's been a while since we have felt this kinds of cold, we have not rebounded all that far, current windchills in the single digits in mt. pocono, 17 in reading and 16 in philadelphia and trenton 18 and 14 in dover and the windchill is 14 degrees in wildwood only 9 in beach haven, still an issue if you are headed out. satellite 6 along with action radar showing no precipitation and it's beautiful out there with bright sunshine, as long as you don't have to be outside.

if you do you need to bundle up for it. what to expect for the ride home, your commute lots of sunshine, 4:00 pnl only 29 degrees and 5:30 staying in the 20s, 28 and 7:00 p.m. 26 degrees coming down from your high of about 30. things change in a big way in the seven day f. we'll bump the numbers up. coming up in a few minutes. >> thank you. the freezing conditions made a difficult job more challenging when firefighters had to battle a large blaze in philadelphia. check out the scene today at the cobb's creek golf club, the club is destroyed and covered in ice. john rawlins has the full story. >> a fire investigator remains at the scene along with a couple of fire trucks, nobody was injured in the blaze but given the conditions last night it

took two hours to contain. >> reporter: firefighters were still pouring water on the ruins now much of the building is shrouded in ice, firefighters responded to this clubhouse at the gulf club at 7:00 last night. >> companies were inside with hand lines for about 20 minutes and the fire took control of the wall. >> the combination of fierce winds and the design of the abling structure allowed it to race into the walls of the building and into the second floor of the roof, at that point, firefighters trying to stop the flames were removed for their own safety, given the intense cold the water quickly froze outside making it a tough place for firefighters to work. >> spray and water, and we have to keep our equipment moving so it doesn't ice up. we have to keep our people warm and another hour, hour and a half we have to change the troops and bring in fresh

troops, the golf club dates to 1916, fire marshals have been called to the scene to investigate the cause of the blaze. >> reporter: and again that investigation is still on going, we were told initially that there was no thinking this was suspicious and the building was occupied and in use in the management offices on the second floor. john rawlins, channel 6 "action news." >> john thank you. quick break and more news when we come right back. i drive a golf ball.

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well that calls for a round of kevin nealons. make mine an arnold palmer. same here. with xarelto® there is no regular blood monitoring and no known dietary restrictions. treatment with xarelto® was the right move for us. ask your doctor about xarelto®. is karen here with accuweather now with another bitter cold day. it's another brief blast of arctic air, we are still feeling it. lets look at your exclusive accuweather forecast temperatures today stay below freezing, a high of 31 degrees despite the sunshine, it feels like the teens and 20s this afternoon tomorrow is not as harsh, a high of 40, thursday clouds and sun and milder and pretty nice day, friday turning cloudy with a chance a shower at

night, 50 on saturday, a morning shower and mild and 52 on sunday wet with periods of rain. >> thank you karen. another half hour to go we'll be right back.

ft. hood -- binghamton, aurora, oak creek. new town, the navy yard santa