In the face of more Congressional gridlock on gun control, President Barack Obama is considering implementing background check legislation by way of executive order.
The executive order will bypass Congress and will require large gun dealers to perform background checks on potential buyers. The dealers would also be required to have licensing from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. The shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon turned out to be the last straw.
“Our thoughts and prayers are not enough,” the President said in a statement last Thursday. “It’s not enough. It does not capture the heartache and grief and anger that we should feel. And it does nothing to prevent this carnage from being inflicted someplace else in America.”
His address last Thursday echoed his sentiments in 2012 after the Newtown shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. He noted how America has been through mass shootings “too many times.”
As the president noted, people always want to pray and hope after school shootings. But, prayer has not stopped anything. It’s time to act. This is exactly what we need.
For more on this story, visit CBS News “Obama considers executive action on gun background checks”
