Obama Using Executive Orders to Bypass Congress on Gun Control

Even as the Senate prepares to vote on gun control measures next month, President Obama has been using executive orders to broaden the background check system, increase research on gun violence, and “create a million-dollar ad campaign aimed at safe gun ownership.”

The background check expansions contained in the orders will give “law enforcement officials more information about guns” and gun owners, as well as more information on criminals and the mentally ill.

These efforts have been done quietly and are viewed as part of a larger effort to pressure Congress to go the President’s way on gun control.

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s gun control group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, has praised Obama’s gun control push but says the executive orders fall well short of what Congress could accomplish through legislation.