U.S. presidential candidates and some Congress members were quick to react to new gun control measures announced by President Obama on Tuesday (January 5). Surrounded by victims of gun violence, the U.S. president unveiled stricter gun rules that he said he can impose without Congressional approval.
Republican presidential candidates were quick to condemn the new executive orders and vow to undo them if elected.
“[President Obama] just wants to sign executive orders all the time,” Republican candidate Donald Trump told a packed auditorium in Lowell, Massachusetts. “It’s no good, it’s no fair and they’re not going to screw around with the Second Amendment, OK? It’s not going to happen.”
Rival Republican Jeb Bush questioned Obama’s authority to impose the changes, and called on him to work with Congress on a legislation to resolve problems.
“The president doesn’t have authority to do it. If there is an issue related to federal gun laws then he ought to go to Congress and try to forge consensus to make it happen. He doesn’t have this power. And certainly the best way to do it is the way that we’ve always done it — allow states to decide what kind of gun control laws that they have.”
But Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, a former Secretary of State in the Obama administration, applauded the president’s move.
“I’m very proud of what the president called for this morning with his executive order, and I was pleased because some of what he called for I had advocated for back a couple of months ago during our debates and during the campaign.”
Members of the U.S. Senate were also divided along party lines. Republican Susan Collins from Maine echoed the call from fellow Republican Jeb Bush for Obama to work with Congress, rather than using his executive power.
“The president has gone about this the entirely wrong way. Once again, we’ve seen the president overstep his executive authority and every time he has done this, it has not ended well. In some cases, such as recess appointments, the courts have intervened to overturn his actions. In other cases, Congress had intervened. It would be so much better if the president would work with Congress to come up with legislation that strengthened the background checks, which is a goal that I do share with the president, but he’s going about it in the wrong way.”
But Democrat Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut said the action was badly needed.
“There is no question that these measures will literally save lives, because they will help keep guns away from criminals, domestic abusers, drug addicts and other dangerous people. The major objective here is to save lives by stopping illegal sales and straw purchases, and putting gun dealers on notice that they have to do background checks if they’re in the business of selling guns because they need to be licensed. ”
Blumenthal is from a state which is the site of one of the most horrific gun massacres. In December 2012, a 20-year-old man opened fire at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, killing 20 children and six adults. The father of one of those children stood next to the president when he announced the new measures Tuesday. (Reuters)
