It was reported a few days ago that President Obama was meeting secretly with America’s top mayors to announce executive action on gun control. According to Kristin Tate, one of our reporters, “As you may remember, Obama failed to pass gun control measures through the Senate last spring. Most notably, the president was pushing for background checks for gun purchases.”

Today Obama made good on his promise to push for more gun control.

Rather than wait for Congress to pass new laws Obama bypassed them today. The two executive orders were announced at the same time the new Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) director Todd Jones was sworn in. Jones has been upheld by Senate republicans until recently. The ATF will be the enforcer of Obama’s two new executive orders.

The first order seeks to close a loophole, which allows felons and others who would be otherwise prohibited from owning firearms to bypass the law by registering their firearms with a trust or corporation. This would exempt them from having to complete a background check. It also forces anyone associated with a trust or corporation to complete a background.

The second order signed by Obama seeks to prohibit military-grade weapons from entering into America by keeping private entities from re-importing guns that the US previously sent to foreign allies. Currently, a law already requires U.S. government approval before these weapons can be re-imported. The White House says that more than 250,000 weapons have been brought back to America since 2005. Under the new executive order this practice will no longer be allowed. The weapons sent to foreign countries will have to remain there.

Is Obama overstepping his authority by enforcing laws through an agency rather than have Congress pass them?

-Let us know what you think in the comments below.