The President outlined his agenda for gun control this morning. The media calls it “sweeping.” That’s not the adjective I’d use.
He wants limits on magazine capacity, a ban on “assault weapons,” and universal background checks. Those things require legislation, for which the chances look pretty grim. Even Harry Reid and Steny Hoyer have gone on the record as being pessimistic on the matter, no matter how many gruesome pictures Joe Manchin wants to run on the evening news.
So, that leaves Executive Orders, of which the President has proposed 23. Most are harmless, a couple are potentially troubling, and a couple have real merit.
None, of course, would have prevented the tragedy at Sandy Hook.
Here are the provisions that concern me:
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.
Those criteria are established by the 1968 GCA. Do we want the Attorney General to have the power to establish new categories of ineligible people? This could lead to abuses, but any changes to 18 U.S.C. § 922(d) have to come through legislation. Nonetheless, it bears watching.
Publish a letter from ATF to federally licensed gun dealers providing guidance on how to run background checks for private sellers.
This is presumably intended to dovetail into the President’s legislative proposal that private sales be run through the NICS background check system. Without an actual law on the table, I’m not sure how the ATF can offer guidance on the issue.
Nominate an ATF director.
Directors have to be approved by Congress, which is why they haven’t had one since Truscott left in disgrace. The Senate has been reluctant to confirm anyone since 2006, and the Bureau has been run by “acting” directors. Urge your Senator to oppose any permanent candidate for the job until acceptable action is taken with regards to Fast & Furious.
Issue a Presidential Memorandum directing the Centers for Disease Control to research the causes and prevention of gun violence.
Encourage your elected officials to defund any such measures. It has been done successfully before. Speaking of which, here’s a fun one:
Launch a national safe and responsible gun ownership campaign.
Yeah, guys…we’ve had that for quite some time. Since the 1860’s, in fact. It’s called the National Rifle Association.
Then there are a couple of things I can support:
Provide law enforcement, first responders, and school officials with propertraining for active shooter situations.
Maximize enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence and prosecute gun crime.
There are a few things on mental-health reporting that have folks troubled. As I mentioned, the GCA disqualifies people who have been adjudicated as mentally defective, or who have been involuntarily committed. Both of those determinations require due process, and any modification to that would have to pass the legislature, which is incredibly unlikely.
So, mostly fluff. A couple of issues require a bit of vigilance, but if this is the best this guy can do, I’m not too worried.