The Obama administration is considering a series of gun control executive orders to stem the increase in gun violence cases in the U.S. The Obama administration had begun working on tougher gun control laws immediately after the Sandy Hook shootings in Dec. 2012. The pending implementation will be a test of how far Obama’s order can go without being revoked by the courts.
After Friday’s three campus shootings, barely a week after mass shootings in Umpqua Community College left 10 people dead, the U.S. president is preparing to implement a series of executive orders that will see gun purchasers exposed to more checks.
The executive orders would require gun dealers selling more than a certain number of guns to conduct heavier, more stringent background checks and obtain a license from the ATF. Currently, many of those dealers are exempted from conducting the tough gun control background checks because of a law that states people making “occasional sales” are not required to conduct the checks or obtain a license.
Critics have blamed this loophole that allows people to buy and sell guns online or at gun shows for the rising incidences of gun violence.
Reports indicate that the president’s legal staff is in the final stages of drafting the order in a way that will prevent it from being overturned by federal courts.
The laws are expected to ignite a firestorm with Congress already debating whether gun control is required to cut down the incidences of gun violence.
On the presidential campaign trail, the laws will form a new arena for debate between candidates from both sides of the political divide. Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton seized the Oregon shooting to put across several gun control proposals, one of them being executive background checks, similar to the ones proposed by Obama.
Republicans have sharply criticized the proposals saying mental health and not gun control was the correct response. The GOP presidential hopefuls accuse the Democrats of using the incidents to infringe on Second Amendment Rights.
Background checks on those seeking to purchase guns would help curb the incidences of gun violence in the U.S. Though Obama’s laws have been long overdue, their potential to bring down mass shootings is welcomed.
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