Bloomberg View: The Value of Studying Gun Violence

Obama’s gun control proposals strike a blow against ignorance

A young woman shoots an assault rifle with a high-capacity magazine at a shooting rangePhotograph by Ryan Houston/Getty Images

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January 18, 2013 at 2:36 AM UTC

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This article is part of the January 21, 2013 issue of businessweek.

The White House’s newly announced gun control agenda, and the presidential commitment behind it, is a genuine milestone on America’s long, twisted road toward sensible gun laws. This time, the cynics are wrong.

Will the White House achieve everything it wants? Surely not. But while acknowledging the “complicated challenge” he has embraced, President Obama also recognizes that the Newtown massacre has created space for a meaningful discussion on gun laws.