Slate has it. Much of it is relatively mild and some uncontroversial. But here are my comments:
- “Publish a letter from ATF to federally licensed gun dealers providing guidance on how to run background checks for private sellers.” Does this mean that we can just get the check without the 4473?
- “Launch a national safe and responsible gun ownership campaign.” Hey, you know who already has one of those going? The NRA.
- “Review safety standards for gun locks and gun safes (Consumer Product Safety Commission).” This was one of Bloomberg’s recommendations. The potential issue here is that they mandate expensive locks that provide little additional safety benefit over existing locks with the sole purpose to drive up costs.
- “Issue a Presidential Memorandum directing the Centers for Disease Control to research the causes and prevention of gun violence.” They did this in the 90s, and it was pure political hackery designed to promote more gun control.
- “Direct the Attorney General to issue a report on the availability and most effective use of new gun safety technologies and challenge the private sector to develop innovative technologies” Smart gun nonsense. I want a phaser too.
I hate to say it folks, but this is not nearly as bad as I was expecting, unless there’s more gems hidden in this.
UPDATE: I should note here that I think Obama’s strategy is to lay responsibility for action at the feet of Congress. How much weight does the White House intend to put behind these efforts? We know Obama’s machine has a great deal of energy and organization. We must match that. Hell, we must overwhelm it in the years ahead.
UPDATE: I’d also note we’re not really out of the woods on the executive order issue. One, there could be more. Two, we still don’t really know what’s in this order yet, other than what they’ve released to the media.