Courtesy of Yahoo News:
President Barack Obama said on Monday his new executive actions to tighten gun rules were "well within" his legal authority and consistent with the U.S. right to bear arms, a warning to opponents who are likely to challenge them in court.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Obama said his administration would unveil the new measures over the next several days.
Obama is igniting a political firestorm by bypassing Congress with the measures, which are likely to redefine what it means to be a gun dealer and spark increased use of background checks. Republicans say Obama is misusing his powers.
"The good news is .. these are not only recommendations that are well within my legal authority and the executive branch, but they're also ones that the overwhelming majority of the American people, including gun owners, support," Obama said during a meeting with Attorney General Loretta Lynch and other advisers.
As you might imagine this has caused a virtual meltdown among the Right Wing who now feel vindicated for accusing the President of coming after their guns for virtually the entire seven years he has been in office.
One headline over at Fox says simply "President Obama wants to disarm America," which of course is the overstatement of the decade.
GOP presidential candidates like Donald Trump and Marco Rubio are claiming that on day one they will reverse this order, while their supporters run to the local gun store to stock up on bullets and add to their arsenal.
Just another reason why we so desperately need to make sure that Hillary Clinton is the next President of the United States:
When I came out with my proposals for common sense gun safety measures, I did say that in the absence of Congressional action, I would use executive authority to go as far as would be possible under the law and I applaud the President for taking a hard look at that and I believe he will take some actions to require more gun sellers to do background checks,” Clinton said of the anticipated proposal.
Clinton warned: “I know that a Republican president would delight in the very first day, reversing executive orders that President Obama has made, including this one that we expect him to make.”
If part of this 2016 campaign season centers around gun control, and I think we already know that it will, then you can bet the farm that we are going to see entirely new levels of ugly.
President Obama says that new executive orders to tighten gun control legislation well within his legal authority.
5:38 PM
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