If Obama Took 'Executive Action' On Guns, What Might He Do?

Vice President Biden and President Obama at the White House on Dec. 19. Biden has been charged with drawing up "concrete proposals" on how to reduce gun violence.

Enlarge imagei

Vice President Biden and President Obama at the White House on Dec. 19. Biden has been charged with drawing up "concrete proposals" on how to reduce gun violence.

Fang Zhe/Xinhua /Landov

Vice President Biden and President Obama at the White House on Dec. 19. Biden has been charged with drawing up "concrete proposals" on how to reduce gun violence.

Vice President Biden and President Obama at the White House on Dec. 19. Biden has been charged with drawing up "concrete proposals" on how to reduce gun violence.

Fang Zhe/Xinhua /Landov

After Vice President Biden said Wednesday that the Obama administration might take some executive actions on the issues of guns and gun-related violence, questions naturally arose:

What kinds of things was he talking about? What might the administration do that doesn't require Congressional action?

Our colleague Ari Shapiro is looking to answer those questions on All Things Considered later today (click here to find an NPR station that broadcasts or streams the show). Meanwhile, here's some reporting from elsewhere:

— Obama might "strengthen the database that the FBI uses to perform background checks on gun buyers. Many federal agencies that don't currently contribute to the database, such as the Social Security Administration, have access to mental competence information about prospective buyers, or details about failed drug tests and other issues that might prevent a sale to the wrong person. ... The president could also demand that the states share more information from their crime and mental-health databases." (The New York Times)

— "It is unclear what specific executive orders Obama is contemplating, though one Democratic aide with insight into the talks said Obama could sidestep Congress and bolster federally funded mental-health programs." (The Hill)

— "The coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, led by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has called for Obama to consider several measures that they said could be implemented without congressional approval: Step up prosecution by the Justice Department of felons and others prohibited from buying weapons when they attempt to buy them. ... Require federal agencies to report records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check Systems. ... Appoint an ATF director. The federal agency charged with enforcing gun laws has gone without a confirmed director for six years." (USA Today)

The Times adds, by the way, that "most changes to the current system, which allows easy access to weapons with hugely destructive power, has to come through legislation."

After the Dec. 14 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Biden was charged with reporting back this month with "concrete proposals" on reducing gun violence. Among the groups he's due to meet with today is the National Rifle Association.

1-16-13

President Barack Obama signs a series of executive orders about the administration's new gun law proposals as children who wrote letters to the White House about gun violence, (L-R) Hinna Zeejah, Taejah Goode, Julia Stokes and Grant Fritz, look on. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

President Obama has signed 23 executive orders designed to address the problem of gun violence in America. The following are the items addressed:

Gun Violence Reduction Executive Actions:

1. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system.

2. Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system.

3. Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system.

4. Direct the Attorney General to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks.

5. Propose rulemaking to give law enforcement the ability to run a full background check on an individual before returning a seized gun.

6. Publish a letter from ATF to federally licensed gun dealers providing guidance on how to run background checks for private sellers.

7. Launch a national safe and responsible gun ownership campaign.

8. Review safety standards for gun locks and gun safes (Consumer Product afety Commission.)

9. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations.

10. Release a DOJ report analyzing information on lost and stolen guns and make itwidely available to law enforcement.

11. Nominate an ATF director.

12. Provide law enforcement, first responders, and school officials with proper training for active shooter situations.

13. Maximize enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence and prosecute gun crime.

14. Issue a Presidential Memorandum directing the Centers for Disease Control to research the causes and prevention of gun violence.

15. Direct the Attorney General to issue a report on the availability and most effective use of new gun safety technologies and challenge the private sector to develop innovative technologies.

16. Clarify that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit doctors asking their patients about guns in their homes.

17. Release a letter to health care providers clarifying that no federal law prohibits them from reporting threats of violence to law enforcement authorities.

18. Provide incentives for schools to hire school resource officers.

19. Develop model emergency response plans for schools, houses of worship and institutions of higher education.

20. Release a letter to state health officials clarifying the scope of mental health services that Medicaid plans must cover.

21. Finalize regulations clarifying essential health benefits and parity requirements within ACA exchanges.

22. Commit to finalizing mental health parity regulations.

23. Launch a national dialogue led by Secretaries Sebelius and Duncan on mental health.

It does not appear that any of the executive orders would have any impact on the guns people currently own-or would like to purchase - and that all proposals regarding limiting the availability of assault weapons or large ammunition magazines will be proposed for Congressional action.  As such, any potential effort to create a Constitutional crisis - or the leveling of charges that the White House has overstepped tis executive authority - would hold no vailidity.

Contact Rick at thepolicypage@gmail.com

 

 

 

  • Gun Rights! | TPM Editors Blog

    talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2013/01/gun_rights.php

    1 day ago ... We know what people mean in a political context when they talk about 'gun rights .' And the Supreme Court has now said that there is an ...

  • Ga. mom who shot intruder inspires gun rights advocates - CBS ...

    www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57563187/ga-mom-who-shot-intruder-inspires-gun...

    13 hours ago ... NRA tweets link to story about Melinda Herman, who shot man when he broke into her home; sheriff hails her as a hero.

  • Video: Secret gun-rights provision in ObamaCare? « Hot Air

    hotair.com/archives/2013/01/09/video-secret-gun-rights-provision-in-obamaca...

    1 day ago ... By golly, Nancy Pelosi was right — they didn't know what was in ObamaCare until it passed! Of course, in this case all she needed to do was ...