Republicans on Tuesday responded to President Obama’s new plan for more background checks on gun purchases with vows of legislative oversight, in an effort to circumvent a plan the GOP says go too far.
Republicans have already threatened to use the congressional “power of the purse” to stop implementation of Obama’s proposed changes in the fiscal 2017 budget, but that battle is almost a year away. In the meantime, Republicans condemned Obama’s announcement and threatened possible legislation to stop it.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said current law already requires people who make their living selling guns to be licensed, and said Obama’s latest efforts “amount to a form of intimidation that undermines liberty.”
“No matter what President Obama says, his word does not trump the Second Amendment,” Ryan said. “We will conduct vigilant oversight. His executive order will no doubt be challenged in the courts.”
Republicans said the changes announced by Obama were much less significant than they had expected, and don’t reflect Obama’s final goals when it comes to gun control.
“Ultimately, this executive ‘guidance’ is only a weak gesture — a shell of what the president actually wants,” House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said in a statement.
Still, some warned that law-abiding gun owners could be adversely affected by Obama’s move. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte said he feared Obama’s announcement would encroach on privacy and due process by giving government officials the power to deny gun ownership to those it deems mentally incompetent.
“The House Judiciary Committee will closely monitor the administration’s actions and consider whether legislation is needed to further protect Americans’ constitutional rights,” Goodlatte said in a statement.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called the move political, not practical, and noted a drop in federal enforcement of current gun laws.
“The people’s elected representatives in Congress will oversee these latest actions to determine whether they follow federal law and the Constitution,” McConnell said.
But while Republicans vowed oversight, House Democrats praised the move.
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., accused Republicans of “outrageous obstruction” of past gun control legislation that failed to clear Congress, although some Democrats also oppose such measures. She said the government had a “moral obligation” to take action to help stop gun violence.
“We cannot fail to act while so many Americans are dying,” Pelosi said after Obama’s remarks. “While Republicans continue their outrageous obstruction, the president is taking commonsense steps to reduce gun violence. The president is using his clear authority to toughen the application and enforcement of existing law to help save lives. Congress should support the increased resources needed for law enforcement and mental health care.”
Congress last attempted to move major gun control legislation in 2013, when the Senate failed to pass legislation to expand background checks, ban some semi-automatic weapons and limit some ammunition purchases.
