Despite public clamor and the strong efforts of some in Congress the Obama administration failed at getting new gun control laws passed through Congress in the spring, now President Barack Obama is using an executive order to close some loopholes in current gun legislation, according to the New York Times.
"Even as Congress fails to act on common-sense proposals, like expanding criminal background checks and making gun trafficking a federal crime, the president and vice president remain committed to using all the tools in their power to make progress toward reducing gun violence," the White House said in a statement.
The two new policies will ban the importation of military-grade weapons made in the U.S. that were sold to foreign governments and no longer allowed guns to be registered to corporations of trusts since felons could do so in an attempt to avoid a background check, according to the Associated Press.
Some gun advocates are questioning whether or not the new policies will do anything to help curb violence, especially because many of the military-grade weapons that are imported are basically antiques, according to the Associated Press.
"Banning these rifles because of their use in quote-unquote crimes is like banning Model Ts because so many of them are being used as getaway cars in bank robberies," Ed Woods, a gun collector, told the Associated Press. "Someday my kid will have something that possibly their grandfather, who they never had a chance to meet, is connected to."
Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, told the Los Angeles Times that he was outraged by the order but was already working on legislation that would prevent the order from going into effect.
"Evidently he's been elected king and not president," Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, told the Los Angeles Times. "He's made it fairly clear that he doesn't like the Second Amendment."
Vice President Joe Biden described the policy changes as "common-sense" while defending the move having to be made by executive order, according to the Associated Press.
"If Congress won't act, we'll fight for a new Congress," Biden said. "It's that simple. But we're going to get this done."
The National Rifle Association argued that the moves made by the Obama administration will do nothing to curb gun violence, according to the Associated Press.
"The Obama administration has once again completely missed the mark when it comes to stopping violent crime," Andrew Arulanandam, a spokesman for the NRA, told the Associated Press. "This administration should get serious about prosecuting violent criminals who misuse guns and stop focusing its efforts on law-abiding gun owners."
