WASHINGTON (AP) — Tears streaking his cheeks, President
Barack Obama launched a final-year push Tuesday to
tighten sales of firearms in the U.S., using his presidential
powers in the absence of tougher gun restrictions that
Congress has refused to pass.
The president struck a combative tone as he came out with
plans for expanded background checks and other modest
measures that have drawn consternation from gun rights
groups, which Obama accused of making Congress their
hostage. Palpable, too, was Obama's extreme frustration at
having made such little progress on gun control since the
killing of 20 first-graders in Connecticut confronted the
nation more than three years ago.
"First-graders," Obama said woefully, resting his chin on
his hand and wiping away tears as he recalled the 2012
massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. "Every time I
think about those kids, it gets me mad."
Obama's 10-point plan to keep guns from those who
shouldn't have them marked a concession by the president:
He'll leave office without securing the new gun control laws
he's repeatedly and desperately implored Congress to pass.
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Although Obama, acting alone, can take action around the
margins, only Congress can enact more sweeping changes
that gun control advocates say are the only way to truly
stem the frequency of mass shootings.
"It won't happen overnight," Obama said. "It won't happen
during this Congress. It won't happen during my
presidency." But, he added optimistically, "a lot of things
don't happen overnight."
The National Rifle Association, the largest gun group,
panned Obama's plan and said it was "ripe for abuse,"
although the group didn't specify what steps, if any, it will
take to oppose or try to block it. Even Sen. Joe Manchin, a
Democrat and gun-owner who co-wrote the bipartisan bill
Obama supported in 2013, took issue with the president's
move.
"Instead of taking unilateral executive action, the
president should work with Congress and the American
people, just as I've always done, to pass the proposals he
announced today," Manchin said.
The centerpiece of Obama's plan is an attempt to narrow
the loophole that exempts gun sales from background
checks if the seller isn't a federal registered dealer. With
new federal "guidance," the administration is clarifying
that even those who sell just a few weapons at gun shows,
flea markets or online can be deemed dealers and required
to conduct checks on prospective buyers.
Whether that step can make a significant dent in
unregulated gun sales is an open question, and one not
easily answered.
Millions of guns are sold annually in informal settings
outside of gun shops, including many through private sales
arranged online. But the Obama administration
acknowledged it couldn't quantify how many gun sales
would be newly subjected to background checks, nor how
many currently unregistered gun sellers would have to
obtain a license.
Easily reversible by a future president, the government's
guidance to gun sellers lacks the legal oomph of a new law,
such as the one Obama and likeminded lawmakers tried but
failed to pass in 2013. The Justice Department said online
the guidance "has no regulatory effect and is not intended
to create or confer any rights, privileges, or benefits in any
matter, case, or proceeding."
What's more, none of the steps would have probably
prevented any of the recent mass shootings that Obama
invoked in the East Room: Aurora, Oak Creek, Charleston,
Newtown, to name some. But Obama defiantly rejected that
critique, dismissing it as the tired trope of gun lobbyists who
question "why bother trying?"
"I reject that thinking," Obama said. "We maybe can't
save everybody, but we could save some."
Hoping to give the issue a human face, the White House
assembled a cross-section of Americans affected by
searing recent gun tragedies, including former Rep.
Gabrielle Giffords. Mark Barden, whose son was shot to
death at Sandy Hook Elementary School, introduced the
president with a declaration that "we are better than
this."
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Obama readily conceded the executive steps will be
challenged in court, a prediction quickly echoed by
Republicans.
Chuck James, a former federal prosecutor who practices
firearms law at the firm Williams Mullen, said opponents
are likely to challenge Obama's authority to define what it
means to be "engaged in the business" of selling guns
beyond what's laid out in the law. The White House asserted
confidence Obama was acting legally, and said Justice
Department and White House lawyers had worked diligently
to ensure the steps were watertight.
Other new steps include 230 new examiners the FBI will hire
to process background checks, aiming to prevent delays
that enabled the accused gunman in Charleston, South
Carolina, to get a gun when the government took too long.
Obama is also asking the government to research smart gun
technology to reduce accidental shootings and asking
Congress for $500 million to improve mental health care.
Other provisions aim to better track lost or stolen guns and
prevent trusts or corporations from buying dangerous
weapons without background checks.
Obama's announcement carved a predictably partisan
fault line through the presidential campaign.
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, both competing for the
nomination from Obama's party, pledged to build on his
actions if elected. The Republican field formed a chorus of
voices vowing to annul the whole package, with Marco Rubio
claiming "Obama is obsessed with undermining the Second
Amendment."
"Rather than focus on criminals and terrorists, he goes
after the most law-abiding of citizens," said House Speaker
Paul Ryan, a Republican. "His words and actions amount to
a form of intimidation that undermines liberty."
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