Could an executive order be issued in regard to what happened in Orlando?

[still_one]

I was in a discussion with another DUer, and he brought up that point

For instance, could they find existing law where the President could ban automatic assault rifles with large magazine clips, an utilize executive action?

[liberal N proud]

1. The gun groupies would go nuts

They would be yelling told you so that they knew the President was going to take their guns away.
That is why I don't think anything like that would happen.

[villager]

2. This nation has to quit being held hostage by gun groupies. We've seen where it's gotten us. nt

[uponit7771]

5. Gumpers would go nuts if someone sneezed loud, seems to be a touchy crowd of folk

[liberal N proud]

7. True that

Thin skinned and defensive

[yeoman6987]

18. Totally unconstitutional

Why put the president in a position where he can be impeached?

[uponit7771]

3. Yes, that if someone is on a terrorist watch list and buys a gun the authorities should be alerted..

... bout that simple IMHO

[linuxman]

6. This shooter wasn't on any watch lists the day before yesterday.

[uponit7771]

8. Or was under observance or investigated by FBI etc etc...

[linuxman]

12. So without that being noted

(In otherwords, put on a list), how would that information be available in order to use it to prevent the sale of a gun?

Also, he was no longer monitored or being observed. The dropped it several years ago. Do you believe that having once been investigatied by the feds should mean forfeiture of due process and right henceforth, because that's pretty much what would be required in this situation.

Give me an honest answer, even if it's hard.

[uponit7771]

14. I posted alerted so they can observe, wont prevent the sale but they person is being watched and

... someone is keeping tabs, not perfect... but something.

[linuxman]

15. Who is going to do the watching? For how long?

If someone was investigated and them bought a gun, once the fbi lets someone know(let's just say the local cops) what then? Arrest them? For what? Monitor them? For how long? My town has 6 officers.

[uponit7771]

16. Well, we give p91842n9423n quad trillion dollars to the defense dept so have them do it. I think ...

... there's a solution, doing nothing is a disgrace

[linuxman]

17. Yeaaaaaaah...no.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posse_Comitatus_Act

[still_one]

9. So at least on some basis it could be done

[linuxman]

4. That's not how it works.

If I had one wish, I'd use it to lock all of america in a civics classroom and not let anyone out until they pass an exam.

Additionally, I'd add that automatic assault rifles have essentially been banned sine 1934.

[liberal N proud]

10. What is an AR-15 if it is not an assult rifle?

[whatthehey]

11. A semi-automatic rifle with a moderate (at best) powered round

One trigger pull one bullet. Sure it can do an awful lot of damage, but an assault rifle it's not. Restricting rifles sounds like a good idea today but in reality they are used in a tiny percentage of gun crimes. If reducing deaths is the real criterion, cheap handguns are the best bugaboo to go for. 70%+ of gun homicides. And I say this as someone who owns no rifle at all - they aren't much use to the hemiplegiac.

[still_one]

20. "At the Orlando shooting, more than 20 rounds can be heard being fired in rapid succession"

AR-15s, which were first developed for the military and used extensively in the Vietnam War, are widely owned by assault-rifle enthusiasts. The rifle, which can rapidly fire multiple high-velocity rounds, has been used in a number of mass shootings, including those in Aurora, Colo.; Newtown, Conn.; and San Bernardino, Calif.

The rifle is legal to buy in most states, including Florida. In 1994, Congress passed an assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004, that prohibited manufacturing the AR-15 for civilian sale with large-capacity magazines, bayonets or pistol grips.

In a video taken by a bystander at the Orlando shooting, more than 20 rounds can be heard being fired in rapid succession. Like most states, Florida does not restrict the capacity of magazines. State bans have been ineffective: purchasers can cross state lines and AR-15s with limited-capacity magazines can easily be modified to accept larger magazines. The shooters in San Bernardino used high-capacity magazines despite California’s ban on semiautomatic rifles with magazines of more than 10 bullets.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/06/12/us/why-the-orlando-shooting-was-so-deadly.html

[whatthehey]

21. Sure - but not more quickly than you can squeeze a finger 20X.

And nowhere near as quickly as the military only 800rpm assault rifle version.

[still_one]

22. ok

[liberal N proud]

24. Semantics - the AR-15 is still an assault weapon

[whatthehey]

26. Words mean things. The civilian version is not.

and actually a different model was used, but since ARs are the discussion topic I'll keep to that

[linuxman]

13. A semiautomatic rifle.

Identical in function to every other semi auto on the market.

It can fire anything from a 22lr up to a 50bmg, making it versatile enough for hunting any animal in North America. Very common with sportsmen. Cheap, lightweight, accurate, reliable, and endlessly modifiable.

[liberal N proud]

23. It is an assault weapon

It is used to assault and kill people.

The AR-15 is an assault weapon.

[linuxman]

29. Folllowing that "Logic"

So is literally every weapon from a fist to a nuke used in a homicide since the dawn of man.

[TeddyR]

19. The president cannot take this type of action

Would almost certainly be unconstitutional. And I'm not even sure what good it would do - the states wouldn't enforce it, any judge would immediately stay its implementation pending a decision on the merits, and it might legitimately lead to impeachment proceedings for abuse of office. And before we start calling for executive orders that almost certainly exceed presidential authority because we can't accomplish certain things through the ballot box or legislation, we need to keep in mind that there will eventually be a Republican president.

[Just reading posts]

25. No. That's not how executive orders work.

[Agnosticsherbet]

27. No but the US Congress could act in the interest of the people...

but the Republican Senate and House have no interest in that. The NRA gives them too much money.

[David__77]

28. How about one to deport foreigners who call for death penalty for gays?

Or for those who call for death penalty for apostasy? Deport them and bar them from entry until they recant.

I'm not opposed to restriction of assault rifles as well.