Peter King calls Obama’s executive directives on gun violence ‘hype’

In nationally televised remarks, Obama said he would use the full force of his
authority to implement recommendations put forth by the gun violence task force
he assembled following last month’s elementary school shootings in Connecticut.

“I
intend to use whatever weight this office holds to make them a reality,”
he said,

But
the president’s power to act unilaterally is limited, and the big-ticket items
he is pursuing – including an assault-weapons ban and universal background
checks – will require congressional action.

Included
in the executive actions (here’s a list) were measures meant to shore up the FBI’s woefully
incomplete National Instant Background Check System, strengthened requirements
for tracing firearms recovered in criminal investigations and a directive
ordering the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study the causes of
gun violence.

Some of the actions announced Wednesday are vaguely written, such as the directive to “maximize enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence and prosecute gun crime.” Others, including Obama’s nomination of Todd Jones as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, would not have a direct impact on gun violence.