By: Alvin Wilson 
Staff writer

President Obama issued a series of executive actions regarding gun control on Tuesday, Jan. 5. He issued the order with the intention of reducing gun related deaths in the U.S. by tightening already existing laws.

The White House website released a statement regarding the executive order, explaining the reasoning behind it and what they hope it will accomplish.

1. Keep guns out of the wrong hands through background checks.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) will require any person “in the business of selling firearms” to obtain a license and conduct background checks. The language is intentionally broad, but it essentially limits online sellers and collectors from selling their firearms without going through a licensed dealer. The FBI will overhaul the background check system, making it more efficient, according to the statement from the White House. The FBI will hire an additional 230 staff members to help process the background checks.

2. Make our communities safer from gun violence.

The President’s budget includes funding for 200 new ATF agents and investigators to help enforce existing gun laws. To track illegal firearm sales online, the budget provides more staff and an additional four million dollars for the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network, a system that helps to identify lost or stolen firearms.

3. Increase mental health treatment and reporting to the background check system.

The order proposes a $500 million investment to increase access to mental health care. The Social Security Administration will now be required to “include information in the background check system about beneficiaries who are prohibited from possessing a firearm for mental health reasons.” Soon states will also be able to provide information about mental health history for background checks.

4. Shape the future of gun safety technology.

The order also directs the Departments of Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security to “conduct or sponsor research into gun safety technology.” It directs the departments to conduct research on smart gun technology, and to explore potential ways to increase gun safety.

The controversial nature of this executive order has caused a large debate, especially in the 2016 presidential field. Any time a president bypasses Congress to get something done, it has often been met with opposition.

Despite claims about the constitutionality of the order, Dr. Ed Dover, professor of political science at Western, claimed the order was within Obama’s authority.

“When a president issues an executive order, he is more or less dealing with the implementation of public law. A lot of what he is introducing is based upon the USA Patriot Act, which was passed right after 9/11. It gave the president and the government a lot of discretion when dealing with acts of terrorism,” said Dover.

“There are laws that allow the president to take various actions to prevent people from having guns. We gave him a lot of power, and he’s using it.”

Dover briefly explained the history of important executive orders, and why sometimes it is necessary to bypass Congress.

“There are some very powerful instances when presidents have used executive orders because they can’t find that congress will allow them […] It took until the 1960’s to get a Civil Rights bill through congress. But Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941 issued an executive order requiring equal employment opportunity in the federal government and the defense industry […] It started with an executive order and, in time, grew to the point where it is now federal and state law.”