White House communications director Jen Psaki says President Obama will be reviewing executive actions he can take to go around Congress on gun control in “weeks, not months.”
The Justice Department is currently reviewing the possibilities, trying to find avenues for executive action that would survive the threat of lawsuits from citizens and gun rights groups alike.
According to Bloomberg.com, Psaki said gun violence is “probably the issue that has touched [Obama] most personally over the course of his presidency.” Psaki did not mention a path she believes most likely nor did she rule out action for any possible gun control scenario, but she did indicate that avenues like barring private sales at gun shows and adding the no-fly list to background checks are not “off the table.”
Speaking in general terms, Psaki indicated that Obama is weighing a “range of steps that can be taken as it relates to the people who have access to guns [and] how people gain access to guns.”
She indicated that the DOJ is wrapping up its recommendations for Obama now–those will include various ways they believe executive actions can be used “to craft gun restrictions that don’t require legislation from Congress.”
Breitbart News previously reported that Obama met with Michael Bloomberg on December 16 to discuss ways executive action could be used to go around Congress for gun control. Neither House Speaker Paul Ryan nor Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have said what moves they would make if Obama tries to use executive action to enact laws that have already been rejected by Congress.
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