GOP bristles at possibility of Obama order limiting gun access

House Republicans warned the Obama administration on Thursday that they would oppose any attempt to bypass Congress on the issue of gun control by issuing a White House executive order that limits access to guns.

"Vice President [Joe] Biden would do well to read the 2nd Amendment and revisit the meaning of the phrase 'shall not be infringed,' " House Republican Study Committee Chairman Steve Scalise (R-La.) said. "Bypassing Congress to implement radical policies is never acceptable, and it's particularly heinous when such actions trample on the freedoms guaranteed to all Americans by the Bill of Rights."

Scalise and others were reacting to news that Biden was preparing a set of gun-control recommendations by early next week. Those recommendations could include executive orders requiring the government to collect information on gun ownership in a central database, and imposing higher penalties against people who traffic in weapons or make false statements on gun permit applications.

Scalise called any effort to issue an executive order would be a "radical attempt" by the administration to "unilaterally rewrite the Constitution."

Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.) said he would resist the administration's attempt to limit access to firearms.

"Any law that seeks to limit the rights of law-abiding citizens from owning firearms is a step towards an out-right ban on firearms," he said.

Freshman Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) accused the Obama administration of trying to usurp the ability of Congress to write the nation's laws.

"Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress is required to be the primary source of federal legislation, and I will fight to ensure that Congress does not abandon our responsibility to the American people by delegating our role in government to the executive branch, particularly regarding such an important issue as the Second Amendment," he said.

"I will use every means at my disposal to combat the agenda of the Executive branch to undermine our Second Amendment rights." Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) said Wednesday. "I will also fight any legislative action that is taken to implement more gun control.

"Americans don't want their Second Amendment freedoms restricted in any way and I will continue to fully support the right to bear arms for all law abiding citizens."

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