Last week, in his weekly address, President Obama announced he would be acting on gun control measures. Citing years of stalled legislation, an unwilling Congress, but what he calls overwhelming support for increased gun control, the White House and the Department of Justice met today to craft new executive orders dealing with guns.
The President has been criticized roundly by opponents for his use of executive orders on immigration and climate change; some of these measures remain tied up in federal court rooms. Many on the right - especially candidates for his job - have called his use of executive orders unprecedented and abusive.
As John Hudak from Brookings tells us, the Obama presidency actually doesn't hold a candle to the sheer number of past presidents. The president has issued the fewest executive actions/orders per day since Grover Cleveland - but the far reaching implications of his actions are "Bold."
"Not every executive order or executive action is created equally. Some can be much more aggressive than others, and it's much harder to quantify how aggressive an executive action is."
Where the President can go constitutionally is and will be a matter of debate, possibly in the courts. The Center For American Progress released a framework for what it believed would be legal.
Where will the White House Go on gun control?
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Guests:
- John Hudak, Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings
- Emily Tisch Sussman, Campaign Director for the Center for American Progress Action Fund
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