The White House on Wednesday charged House Speaker Paul Ryan with flip-flopping on whether a “gun show loophole” exists that needs to be closed.
The Wisconsin Republican told reporters that Republicans aren’t going to directly respond to President Obama’s latest executive actions on guns, because they consider them a “distraction” from the serious problems facing the country. Ryan also said there is “no loophole” that needs to be closed.
The White House cast Obama’s executive action as an effort to require background checks anywhere a gun is sold, including gun shows. But many Republicans have said the action simply restates current law, and said guns sold at gun shows are already sold by licensed dealers, to people who receive background checks.
Still, White House press secretary Josh Earnest, jabbed Ryan for appearing to reverse an earlier belief that efforts to close the so-called gun show loophole were “obvious” and “very reasonable” steps to take.
“I did note in his comments today he said there isn’t a loophole,” Earnest said of Ryan. “So as confusing as his declaration about a distraction is, that’s quite an alarming reversal of opinion for him to say that gun show loopholes are reasonable issues and it’s quote ‘obvious that it should be addressed’ and now, three years later, he’s denying that it even exists.”
“So I guess there are a lot of questions that are raised by Speaker Ryan’s comments today,” Earnest concluded.
In a 2013 interview with the editorial board of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Ryan said attempts to close the “gun show loophole” were “reasonable” and “obvious.”
“I think we need to find out how to close these loopholes and do it in such a way that we don’t infringe upon people’s Second Amendment rights,” he said.
“We had this issue, 2001, 1999 I think … when I first got into Congress,” he continued. “At the time I remember thinking, ‘You know, there is a loophole here. We should address that.'”
