Obama’s Gun-Violence Executive Orders And The Constitution

 

 

 

“As soon as tomorrow, President Obama will announce his administration’s initial steps for dealing with gun violence. It is expected that he will propose measures for congressional action. But recognizing that most legislative proposals will attract powerful resistance, including from some in his own party, the president has indicated that he is prepared to act unilaterally. “My starting point is not to worry about the politics,” the president said. “My starting point is to focus on what makes sense, what works.”

Of course we should all want our president focused on what works. We have more than enough dysfunctional and counter-productive federal policies in place, thanks to both Congress and the president. But there is one consideration that is even more important than whether an executive action will work to reduce gun-related violence: whether the president has the constitutional authority to implement it.

The obvious constraint on executive actions relating to guns is the Second Amendment. It is a constraint that applies equally to Congress and to state and local governments. Though the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller made clear that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to bear arms, it left unresolved whether particular regulations on gun ownership and gun use are consistent with that right. Both the president and Congress will get an earful on this topic over the coming weeks and months.”

Illustration By AF Branco

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