President Obama is issuing an executive order today which he says is designed to tighten restrictions on buying guns, including more mandatory background checks for some private sales.
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says the order comes under the jurisdiction of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which he chairs. Grassley says America’s response to recent tragedies involving guns “should include a thoughtful review of not only how, but also why they happened.”
“So, I’ll be taking a deep look at the president’s proposals,” Grassley says. “My eye is going to be on ensuring that the Second Amendment is not affected and that rights that people have are preserved.”
Grassley, a Republican, says “the devil will be in the details of the regulations that he’s proposing,” and the parameters of the executive order will be carefully analyzed.
“Focusing on limiting access to guns does not lead to a drop in gun crimes,” Grassley says. “States with some of the nation’s strictest gun laws have some of the highest numbers of gun-related crimes in the country.” Grassley says Maryland, Illinois, California, and even Washington, D.C., have some of the nation’s strictest gun laws, yet they have some of the worst records for firearm deaths.
He says Congress has debated and continues to debate appropriate changes to America’s gun laws that respect Second Amendment rights.
“I offered a comprehensive proposal in 2013 and again later, just a few weeks ago, that focused on mental health, straw purchases and illicit trafficking,” Grassley says. “Both times, it received bipartisan support.”
Grassley says he’s working with Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, on a bill to prevent all non-citizens who aren’t legal permanent residents from buying guns. He’s also put forward a number of bills to improve our response to mental health issues, which he notes, are often at the root of these tragedies.