Obama's new gun policies stretch executive power

President Barack Obama announced today new federal guidelines on gun sales that push the limits of White House authority over Second Amendment rights. The rules follow years of presidential pleas for Congress to enact stricter gun-control measures.

Now in the last year of his presidency and less politically vulnerable, Obama has ordered the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to require more gun sellers to conduct background checks on buyers. The change expands the definition of a “gun dealer” from people who sell firearms in licensed locations, like pawnshops and stores, to anyone “in the business” of trading guns. The new definition is hazier and open to interpretation, but it will include vendors at gun shows, flea markets, and over the internet, all of whom are exempt now from federal licensure and background checking requirements. The new rule is meant to apply to people who buy and sell guns for profit, not hobbyists who are selling from their personal collections.

At a ceremony at the White House, Obama stood with victims of gun violence, including former Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., and insisted the majority of Americans support his actions.

“The gun lobby may be holding Congress hostage right now, but they do not have to hold America hostage,” Obama said, once again blaming Congress for failing to act on new policies. Lawmakers’ inaction made his executive action necessary to fill legislative gaps, the president insisted.

But House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said the executive order breached the limits of the president’s power. Ryan condemned the change as unconstitutional and counterproductive.

“We all are pained by the recent atrocities in our country, but no change the president is reportedly considering would have prevented them,” Ryan said before the official announcement. The weapons used in last month’s terror attack in San Bernardino, Calif., were legally purchased by gunman Syed Rizwan Farook and his friend Enrique Marquez, who illegally gave Farook two rifles used in the shooting.

By making the change a federal “guideline”—basically an uncodified directive—Obama is sidestepping the lengthy review process for official regulations. Though the guidelines can take effect immediately, they can also easily be rescinded by Obama’s successor. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, vowed yesterday to quickly undo the rule if he is elected president.

“He can abuse his power all he wants—he has a phone and he has a pen,” Cruz said. “But if you live by the pen, you die by the pen. And my pen has got an eraser.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.