White House Threatens Executive Orders on Guns

"The president is going to act." That was Vice President Joe Biden's message to reporters on January 9, 2013, before a White House meeting with victims of gun violence. "There are executive orders, there's executive action that can be taken. We haven't decided what that is yet. But we're compiling it all with the help of the attorney general and the rest of the cabinet members, as well as legislative action that we believe is required."

The context

Biden was leading the gun-violence task force Obama had created after Sandy Hook. Attorney General Eric Holder was at the table that day. The message was aimed in two directions: at grieving families, a promise of action; at Congress, a warning that the White House would not wait forever.

"This is a moral issue," Biden said, "and it's critically important that we act." He added that responsible action was the standard: "If your actions result in only saving one life, they're worth taking. But I'm convinced we can affect the well-being of millions of Americans and take thousands of people out of harm's way if we act responsibly."

Biden had credibility on the file: he had helped write the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of the 1990s.

What the executive action became

A week later, on January 16, Obama unveiled 23 executive actions: strengthening the background-check system, directing the CDC to research gun violence, ordering federal agencies to share data, and nominating an ATF director. The bigger asks, an assault-weapons ban and universal background checks, needed Congress, and Congress said no. The Senate rejected the Manchin-Toomey background-check bill that April.

The executive-action threat had served its purpose as leverage and as signal. But it also revealed the limits of the presidency on guns: the White House could tinker at the margins, but the law required legislators, and the legislators were not moving.

FAQ

What did Biden announce on January 9, 2013? That Obama was prepared to use executive orders and executive action on gun violence, alongside pushing legislation.

Who was at the White House meeting? Victims of gun violence, Vice President Biden, and Attorney General Eric Holder.

What were the 23 executive actions? Measures announced January 16, 2013, including background-check system improvements, data sharing, and CDC research directives.

Did Congress act? No. The assault-weapons ban and universal background checks both failed in the Senate.

The takeaway

"The president is going to act" turned out to mean: the president would do what a president can do, which on guns was never going to be enough. The threat was real. So were its limits.