President Obama May Bypass Congress To Force Increased Gun Control Measures

On Monday, President Obama hit the ground running after returning from winter vacation. In doing so, he met with Attorney General Loretta Lynch and FBI Director James Comey to discuss an imminent move to strengthen gun control laws. Obama’s made no secret of his desire for gun reform after countless mass shootings, and he will devote this week to the cause. He’ll hold a Town Hall Thursday night on CNN, but Tuesday will see an official executive move on gun reform. In the above video, Obama discussed his twin goals of saving lives while also protecting the second amendment:

“The recommendations that are being made by my team here are ones that are entirely consistent with the Second Amendment and people’s lawful right to bear arms … The good news is … these are not only recommendations that are well within my legal authority and the executive branch, but they’re also ones that the overwhelming majority of the American people, including gun owners, support, and believe.

“Although we have to be very clear that this is not going to solve every violent crime in this country, it’s not going to prevent every mass shooting, it’s not going to keep every gun out of the hands of a criminal, it will potentially save lives and spare families the pain and the extraordinary loss that they’ve suffered as a consequence of a firearm getting in the hands of the wrong people.”

What’s particularly notable here is how Obama may bypass Congress with these new guidelines, and he dropped a warning about his authority to do so. We’ll get back to that in a moment.

On Monday evening, the White House published a wave of outlined objectives, which Obama says will reduce gun violence. He also unleashed several tweets, which stress a focus on mental health treatment in conjunction with improved background checks, community outreach and safer gun technology.

Obama appealed to gun owners by stressing his faith in “commonsense,” which is also the label for his tweeted outline. However, Obama admonished the gun lobby for “hold[ing] America hostage.”

Tuesday’s announcement has not yet arrived, but one person is already upset. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan calls Obama’s actions a “dangerous level of executive overreach.” Ryan released a statement on Twitter:

(Via Whitehouse.gov, Reuters & CNN)