New Details Shed Light on Obama’s Proposed Gun Control Measures

President Obama is heading to Roseburg, Oregon today to comfort families and survivors of the Umpqua College shooting as the White House continues to weigh its options for tighter gun control. Obama, who is said to be considering executive action for the proposed new measures, said he asked his team to,

“… scrub what kinds of authorities do we have to enforce the laws that we have in place more effectively to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. We are hopeful we can find a way to do this“.

Measures being discussed by the White House include new background checks on individuals purchasing weapons from high-volume gun dealers and requiring dealers who exceed a set number of sales to obtain a license from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Dealers will also be asked to perform background checks on potential buyers. The proposals, initially drafted in 2013, were created after Congress rejected a move to expand background checks to private sellers, but several federal lawyers are said to have expressed concern over whether or not the measures were legally defensible.

According to the Washington Post,

“The proposed executive action aims to impose background checks on individuals who buy from dealers who sell a significant number of guns each year. The current federal statute dictates that those who are “engaged in the business” of dealing firearms need to obtain a federal license — and, therefore, conduct background checks — but exempts anyone “who makes occasional sales, exchanges, or purchases of firearms for the enhancement of a personal collection or for a hobby, or who sells all or part of his personal collection of firearms“.

The push to expand gun control comes as Northern Arizona University grapples with its own shooting, leaving one dead and three injured mere days after the Umpqua College tragedy.

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