Gun sale regulations stir debate

President expected to use executive action to increase regulations on sales of firearms

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – There were two more shootings on college campuses Friday as President Barack Obama visited the community college in Oregon where 10 people were killed last week in a mass shooting.

Obama is now expected to use executive action to increase regulations on the sales of firearms. That's drawing debate from both sides.

The president is considering actions to force smaller gun sellers to conduct background checks. Those are for people who occasionally sell a gun, not just regular gun dealers and gun stores.

Much happened on the day that Obama traveled to Roseburg, Oregon, more then a week after a gunman opened fire on a community college campus. There was a shooting at Northern Arizona University. There was also one in Texas, then late Friday afternoon, a college in Kentucky was put on lockdown because of an active-shooter scare. No one ended up hurt in that case.

The president is now calling for stricter regulations on gun sales. That's something Chryl Anderson, who is the Florida chair for the group Moms Demand Action, applauds.

"Absolutely. We're talking about lives. I understand we're in full support of Second Amendment, but that doesn't mean we don't regulate our firearms," Anderson said.

Her group is working on a petition for the president with their own ideas, including law enforcement being notified if someone with a history of mental health problems even applies for a gun permit.

"We know that 40 percent of the guns sold in this country are sold without a background check," Anderson said. "So there are methods out there for a person to obtain a firearm without a background check."

But gun rights advocates believe the president is trying for a political grab. Eric Friday is lead counsel for the group Florida Carry.

"This administration was very famous early on for saying never let a crisis go to waste, and that's what they're doing here. They're simply using a horrible incident to dance on the blood of the innocent," Friday said.

Friday is critical of one of the president's potential actions to force gun sellers who sell a small number of guns each year to do background checks for anyone who purchases from them. This would include people who buy and sell guns occasionally as part of a collection.

"A person who sells guns to make money is a dealer. A person who sells guns to get cash to buy new guns to get a better collection isn't a dealer," Friday said.

The proposal to set a threshold for when a seller has to conduct a background check was discussed during a proposal in 2012 after the Sandy Hook shootings, but was eventually rejected.


About the Author:

Scott is a multi-Emmy Award Winning Anchor and Reporter, who also hosts the “Going Ringside With The Local Station” Podcast. Scott has been a journalist for 25 years, covering stories including six presidential elections, multiple space shuttle launches and dozens of high-profile murder trials.