U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told a press conference Wednesday morning that President Obama “is going to act” in restricting gun laws.
“There are executive orders, there’s executive action that can be taken,” Biden said. “We haven’t decided what that is yet. But we’re compiling it all with the help of the attorney general and the rest of the cabinet members as well as legislative action that we believe is required.”
The statement immediately drew criticism not only from gun rights advocates, but also from conservative pundits questioning the constitutionality of such a decree. An executive order infringing on the Second Amendment is a violation of separation of powers. Hence, any order issued by President Obama would be limited.
As The Examiner reports, following the rejected executive order in the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer case, the Supreme Court ruled that “a president’s executive orders may not go beyond the Constitution, and that orders may not directly contradict an act of Congress.”
Any executive order the President could issue would be limited, and mostly involves enforcing gun control laws already passed OR implementing new measures that do not violate the Constitution or Congressional law.
The Atlantic Wire describes four potential options for immediate executive order:
– Incorporating more information in background checks, like a potential buyer’s history of mental illness.
– Sharing more information with state and local officials about gun purchases that could be illegal.
– Keeping information on gun sales longer.
– Limiting the importation of military-style weapons.
In addition, Congress can and has repealed executive orders. The Examiner states that Congress “could revoke the measure through law or get the White House to reverse course by threatening the funding of whatever department may implement the order.”
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