President Obama made a statement earlier today to discuss his four-point executive action plan to combat gun violence in the United States.
One of the president’s goals is to expand federal background checks and to make the process more efficient.
In doing so, President Obama hopes to close the gun show loophole.
In a story originally reported by Indiana Public Broadcasting’s J.D. Gray on Monday, IU professor and former head of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence Paul Helmke says open air markets, like gun shows, enable the purchase of guns without federal background checks.
“They come in with their so-called private collection, which consists of dozens or hundreds of the same make and model of guns," said Helmke. "They sell those one weekend in Indianapolis, one weekend in Fort Wayne, perhaps the next weekend in Columbus, Ohio.”
He says his actions are necessary due to the inactivity of Congress on the matter.
In a statement, Indiana Republican Senator Dan Coats says, “ ...President Obama is trying to sidestep Congress and legislate from the executive branch. These unconstitutional executive actions disregard the separation of powers and infringe on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans.”
Coats concluded by stating his opposition to any proposal that infringes on the constitutional rights of American citizens.
