Now that the holidays are over it’s back to business as usual. In Obama’s case that means pushing a pet issue with no authorization from congress.
The Wall Street Journal reports:
Obama Ready to Act Alone on Gun ControlPresident Barack Obama, who has bypassed a reluctant Congress on issues ranging from immigration to climate change, is preparing to take executive action on gun control, including expanding background checks on buyers.But even as he gets set to act, Mr. Obama has only limited levers he can pull without Congress, and any unilateral action will face hurdles similar to those it has encountered during earlier attempts to tighten access to guns.The president plans to meet Monday with Attorney General Loretta Lynch before moving ahead with several gun-related executive actions that could also increase the number of accused domestic abusers barred from purchasing firearms.Current federal law prohibits people convicted of domestic violence against a spouse, ex-spouse or cohabiting partner from purchasing a gun. But the law doesn’t extend to violence against current or former dating partners, convicted stalkers, or those with temporary restraining orders.Mr. Obama’s past efforts haven’t always yielded the intended result. Executive actions—or even the specter of executive actions—often have put more firearms in circulation, because gun sales climb amid fears the administration will find a way to limit them.
CNN covered this a few days ago:
One gun dealer in Virginia recently made a very good point about this.
KRNV News reports:
Firearm dealer questions Obama’s planned executive order on gunsThe president’s order is expected to – in part – expand background checks to help close the so-called gun show loophole. By federal law, licensed gun dealers must do background checks. But a private person selling a gun does not. And advocates say gun shows increase the likelihood of these private sales.”It’s not necessarily a gun show loophole, maybe it’s a loophole in gun transactions all together. If you want to call that a loophole… I would call it a right to sell your own personal property,” said Jerry Cochran, one of Virginia’s largest gun dealers.In 35 years, Cochran says he has never sold a gun without a background check. But he does not feel expanding background checks in this way would help stop gun violence or prevent shootings like those in Sandy Hook, San Bernardino and Charleston.”It looks like we have some unstable individuals who have taken action. It’s the slice of white-bread effect. You take a slice. You take a slice. You take a slice. And eventually you have the whole loaf, you have everything,” said Cochran.In a statement, the National Rifle Association said the president is doing what he always does when he doesn’t get his way; he uses executive action to defy the will of the people.
Remember when the media criticized George W. Bush for going it alone?
They don’t.
Featured image via YouTube.
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