At
a meeting with Attorney General Loretta Lynch, FBI Director James Comey
and other top law enforcement officials Obama is expected to sign off
on a package of proposals aimed at curbing gun violence and cracking
down on unregulated gun sales.
At
the top of the list is an effort to expand background checks on gun
sales by forcing more sellers to register as federally licensed gun
dealers. The changes would be aimed at some unregistered sellers who
skirt the background check laws by selling at gun shows, online or
informal settings. Other moves being considered include improving
reporting of lost and stolen weapons and beefing up inspections of
licensed dealers, according to a person familiar with the plans who
would not be named discussing proposals before they are finalized.
The
package includes measures this White House has long considered but not
completed, mindful of the legal fight sure to follow as well as the
potential for political backlash for some fellow Democrats.
But
after a steady string of mass shootings and with the clock on his
tenure ticking down, Obama appears primed to push further than he has in
the past.
"We
definitely think there are things he can do," said Dan Gross, president
of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, which advocates for
expanding background checks. Gross says his recent conversations with
White House aides have left him hopeful.
"It's very clear that the White House is feeling emboldened," he said.
Even before the president's formal announcement, Republicans were registering their opposition.
"The
president is at minimum subverting the legislative branch, and
potentially overturning its will," House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc.,
said in a statement Monday.
Obama
announced the meeting with Lynch in his weekly address from his Hawaii
holiday vacation. On Thursday, he'll take his argument to prime time,
participating in a town hall discussion of gun violence on CNN. He's
slated to make his case for changes in his State of the Union address on
Jan. 12.
The
high-profile rollout reflects a White House continuing to look for ways
to wrap up unfinished business, despite an uncooperative Congress.
After
all but ignoring the issue in his first term, Obama changed course
after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in December 2012.
Nevertheless, the president failed to push a package of gun measures
through Congress, including one expanding background checks.
At
the same time, Obama took nearly two dozen executive actions to tighten
gun laws, but left a major expansion of background checks out of the
mix.
But
after the shooting at a community college in Roseburg, Oregon in
October, a weary and angry Obama ordered his staff to redouble the
effort to look for ways to work around Congress.
Under current law, federally licensed firearms dealers are required to seek background checks on potential firearm purchasers. But advocacy groups say many sellers are currently exempt from having to register, increasing the chance of sales to customers prohibited by law from purchasing a gun.
The
administration is expected to reclassify some of those dealers using a
mix of criteria, such as the number and frequency of guns sold, whether
sellers profit off sales, whether they advertise, rent space or tables
at gun shows and pay taxes. White House officials have not yet disclosed
the details of the proposal.
Obama's
plans immediately set off a political debate on the presidential
campaign trail, both over the policy
and whether the president has the
authority to make it.
Democrat Hillary Clinton, who has already proposed an executive action to close the gun show loophole, cheered Obama's plans.
"I
am absolutely convinced we can have gun safety measures consistent with
the Constitution," she said during a presidential campaign event in
Concord, New Hampshire. "I will take on that fight. I'm very hopeful and
excited that the president is going to take some action with executive
action in the next week or two ... but if it's a Republican who walks
into the White House within the first day, the executive orders will be
reversed."
Rival
Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, told ABC's "This
Week" he wished Congress could find consensus but added the move was the
"right thing to do."
Republicans candidates rejected the proposals, including those who have backed some gun control measures in the past.
"This
president is a petulant child," New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said
Sunday on "Fox News Sunday." ''The fact is if he wants to make changes
to these laws, go to Congress and convince the Congress that they're
necessary. But this is going to be another illegal executive action
which I'm sure will be rejected by the courts."
"I
don't like changing anything," Donald Trump said on CBS' "Face the
Nation." ''Right now, they have plenty of rules and regulations."
By: Kathleen Hennessey (Associated Press).
Contributions: Lisa Lerer (Associated Press).
Review: Emerging Market Formulations & Research Unit, Flagship Records.
For The #FacebookTeam