Biden says EO is on the table...

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Personally, resisting/disobeying an EO seems a lot easier than against a law passed by Congress, Senate and then signed into law by the president. So in some way, I'd rather he go that route, have masses, including LE disobey, than have something pushed through Congress like obamacare was. I'm not saying that such legislation would get rammed through, but it's a possibility.

"Enacting" some anti-gun EO would only prove his arrogance and, in my mind, be reason for impeachment, though I'd have to research that just to make sure it would even qualify.

What changes could he do with EO?

He could "clarify" specific rulings for the EPA, CDC, ATF, etc. to adhere to that isn't expressly explained by law. Such as, material bullets are made of like require them to be biodegradable(?). Or perhaps push for the courts to hand down very strict sentencing for a very small violation of gun law, despite a person doing something by accident or without ill-intent. I can't think of other examples right now. Forgive me if my understanding is off.
 
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Can he sign an EO that the ATF will not proccess any NICS Background checks for Semi-Auto Rifles? *edit* until some time in the future-
 
I hope he does issue an EO that exceeds his authority. This fight is coming anyway, and since it is I would prefer if the opposition takes an idiotic position.
 
Remember George H.W. Bush simply ordered ATF to reject/rescind import approval for AK-47's from China after the CA schoolyard killings. Obama could just close NICS or order ATF not to issue any more FFLs.

Most government licensing laws are based on the idea that people who want to do something that requires a llicense (drive a car, open a restaurant, etc.) will get a license. And the law usually says what they need to do to get a license (learn to drive, clean the building). But the laws almost never say that if the applicant meets the requirements, the government MUST issue the license. It is assumed by the legislature that the government will act in good faith. But what if the government is of bad faith or simply refuses to act? If a leader thinks that way, and considers the Constitution out dated and void, he may well believe there is no need for further elections. Remember, the Constitution mentions elections; it does not say the government has to provide voting machines, or places to vote, or a means of counting votes. Those are implied, but a bad faith leader can ignore implications.

Jim
 
One very revealing thing Biden said in the article was his admission: "There are executives orders, there's executive action that can be taken. We haven't decided what that is yet."

In other words, they don't know what they're talking about, and he just admitted it.
More likely he was deliberately not announcing to his opposition precisely what to expect.
 
Most government licensing laws are based on the idea that people who want to do something that requires a llicense (drive a car, open a restaurant, etc.) will get a license. And the law usually says what they need to do to get a license (learn to drive, clean the building). But the laws almost never say that if the applicant meets the requirements, the government MUST issue the license. It is assumed by the legislature that the government will act in good faith. But what if the government is of bad faith or simply refuses to act?
That was the impetus behind shall issue carry laws. Before them, almost anywhere you could get a permit, you had to go hat in hand to some official and state your need to have the permit. And it was entirely up to them to issue it or not. Most places it was not. That's what happens when you put some people over others. They will exercise control, and the longer they do it, the more they get to feeling they know what's better for you than you do. That was the whole view of government our constitution was set up to check. Unfortunately, the checks built into the constitution have to be actively maintained and defended. When they're not, when repeated violations (like the ones I mentioned above) go unpunished, those checks erode away, and individual freedoms are stifled.
 
The worst part is it would take a new administration to overturn. Yes, it could be challenged and work it's way to the Supreme Court but that takes years. Or Congress could pass a law counteracting it, but it would have to pass House and Senate with 2/3rds or Obama would just veto it.
 
The EOs will be the stick that they threaten us with. The carrot (which I think will be accepted by our spineless politicians) will be a series of laws designed to eventually make owning firearms illegal (or extremely costly and difficult to obtain) for nearly everyone. If they cannot confiscate they will win them through attrition.

Look for mag bans, taxes on firearms (Nfa type registration), increased initial costs, no private transfer, no transfer to heirs, and disqualifying people with certain things in their medical history (PTSD, visits to mental Health care providers, certain meds, etc.) And of course they will have all that thanks to Obama care.
 
the POTUS taught constutional law and it is no secret he thinks it is worthless,there needs to be some counter talk from maybe the NRA about impeachment.
 
So could an E.O. be issued today relating to an import restriction law, or a proliferations of "weapons of mass destruction" law? I'm really not sure how many guns are being imported from overseas nowadays.

Edit: Also I was wondering if anyone could tell me how the requirement for border state gun dealers to report more than purchases of more than one "assault weapon" per customer came about and was it the result of an executive order or thru some other method?
 
Personally, resisting/disobeying an EO seems a lot easier than against a law passed by Congress, Senate and then signed into law by the president. So in some way, I'd rather he go that route, have masses, including LE disobey, than have something pushed through Congress like obamacare was.

In this respect, Printz v. United States is relevant. The Supreme Court ruled that county sheriffs have the power to decide whether federal gun laws are enforced in their jurisdictions.
 
Obama will probably do what George HW Bush did when he banned foreign imports of semiautomatic rifles. Not exactly an Executive Order, but the same effect. And Obama will say, "what's the big deal? Bush did it.".
 
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DoubleTapDrew
He seems to be testing whether the people still have the will to use the 2A for it's original purp

I've probably put myself on the radar, but I have been writing my Congressmen and reps and have told them plainly that any attempt by the government to deprive Americans of their rights will be met with force.
 
there needs to be some counter talk from maybe the NRA about impeachment.
There really isn't grounds for impeachment, and so calling for it -- especially if the NRA did -- both distracts from the Second Amendment issues in play, but also gives the opposition grounds to marginalize gun ownership supporters as irrational.
 
An Executive Order can only be used to execute a Constitutionally appointed authority or one delegated by Congress. For example, the Obama administration interpreted a requirement in the 1968 Gun Control Act for FFLs to report such information as the Secretary of the Treasury (now Attorney General) may require as authorizing them to extend the reporting for multiple sales of handguns to semi-auto longguns as well, even though Congress had passed no such law. The court upheld that authority.

In another example, any firearm with a bore greater than 0.50" is a destructive device (all 12ga shotguns) unless the Attorney General determines it to have a "suitable sporting purpose.". So, many shotguns are particularly open to attack through executive order.
 
The POTUS absolutely cannot issue any EO that creates new law. An EO can only clarify existing law. This has already been established by the SCOTUS.

Quote:
The Supreme Court ruled in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 US 579 (1952) that Executive Order 10340 from President Harry S. Truman placing all steel mills in the country under federal control was invalid because it attempted to make law, rather than clarify or act to further a law put forth by the Congress or the Constitution. Presidents since this decision have generally been careful to cite which specific laws they are acting under when issuing new executive orders.

For all I know, Biden and Zero might dress up in women's panties and dance to the music score of "Rocky", but they cannot force anyone else to do so.

One very revealing thing Biden said in the article was his admission: "There are executives orders, there's executive action that can be taken. We haven't decided what that is yet."

In other words, they don't know what they're talking about, and he just admitted it.

Correct, but EO's aren't a joke either. As long as it is carefully defined, a lot can be done with an EO: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_9066
 
Most of what has been mentioned are things he can’t do, or unlikely to stand up if he does. Sam is correct in saying the Executive Order power has been limited by past Supreme Court decisions.

I expect that if he does anything he will use the “sporting purpose” language in the 1968 GCA to ban importation of guns, gun parts, gun magazines, ammunition and ammunition components that do not meet his view of the “sporting” requirements. He might also order that the military services destroy any surplus ammunition or ammunition components (meaning fired cases) so that they can’t be used.

But if he goes this route more people (read that to mean “voters”) will be mad, Congress will get more letters that will make new laws more unlikely, and the possibility that his party will face serious losses in the 2014 election will grow.

Beyond that he can’t do much more, and I’m sure the NRA and others will be in court before the ink is dry on the order.

And of course, the panic sale of guns, magazines and ammunition will continue and grow even larger. None of these consequences should be particularly attractive to the president – or his Democrat Party.

One last point that hasn’t been mentioned: Working through the federal court system does take time – sometimes years. However in the beginning a Petitioner (through an attorney) can ask for a stay or injunction to block enforcement of any order until the court has ruled. Unquestionably any legal action that is filed from our side will ask for exactly that – and they might get it.
 
It would seem that almost ALL guns could be subjected to the "sporting purposes" test. And if found "wanting" could be subject to administrative procedures. Or have I misunderstood?
 
The sporting purposes test applies only where Congress says it does. Two common examples are bores greater than 0.50" (many shotguns) and imported firearms. Normally, I would be concerned about domestic manufacturers working to limit imports; but given that they can't meet demand as it is right now WITH imports, I am a tiny bit less concerned. And typically, the imports create a lot of domestic business anyway...
 
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