--- title: President Obama's Executive Action on Guns: 4 Things to Know description: President Barack Obama announced a set of executive actions on gun control aimed at reducing gun violence. Here's what you should know canonical: https://time.com/4167475/obama-gun-control-executive-action/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-05T16:30:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T21:08:42.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: What to Know About Obama's Executive Action on Guns og:description: The actions primarily target firearm sales at gunshows og:url: https://time.com/4167475/obama-gun-control-executive-action/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt77c3b65d4ed18678/6988778df887dcb1a6e93fa5/barack-obama-guns.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4710 og:image:height: 2649 og:image:alt: Barack Obama, og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What to Know About Obama's Executive Action on Guns twitter:description: The actions primarily target firearm sales at gunshows twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt77c3b65d4ed18678/6988778df887dcb1a6e93fa5/barack-obama-guns.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 4 Things to Know About President Obama's Executive Actions on Guns > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Updated: Dec 13, 2023 9:08 PM UTCPublished: Jan 5, 2016 4:30 PM UTC  Barack Obama speaks in the Oval Office in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 4, 2016. Barack Obama speaks in the Oval Office in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 4, 2016.Pablo Martinez Monsivais—AP  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Updated: Dec 13, 2023 9:08 PM UTCPublished: Jan 5, 2016 4:30 PM UTC President Obama [announcd a set of executive actions](http://time.com/4167749/obama-gun-control-remarks/) on gun control Tuesday aimed at reducing gun violence in the United States. His announcement followed a [spate of mass shootings](http://time.com/4133808/san-bernardino-shooting-mass-shootings/) that have once again ignited [the national debate over gun control](http://time.com/4101947/hillary-clinton-guns-democrats/). Here’s four things you need to know about Obama’s big move. **The executive actions most significantly impact the so-called gun show loophole** People were previously allowed to buy firearms at gun shows without undergoing a background check. Under the new rules, any business that sells firearms—in a brick-and-mortar store, over the Internet or at a gun show—must have a license and conduct background checks on people trying to buy guns. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) had previously not required background checks from people making occasional sales or exchanges of firearms for a personal collection. **It doesn’t require every gun sale to be preceded by a background check** The action requires sellers at gun shows to conduct background checks but does not mandate checks in every instance. Those who buy or sell only as collectors would not have to undergo a check. In a news release, the White House said the ATF is finalizing a rule to require background checks for people trying to buy the most dangerous weapons. **The government will spend money to make sure background checks take less time** The President’s fiscal year 2017 budget will include funding for more ATF investigators and agents, and the FBI will hire more than 230 staff members to help with background checks, which will now be processed 24/7\. The ATF also established a center to track illegal online firearms trafficking and will devote $4 million to adding personnel to the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network. **Obama has defended the legality of the actions** The executive actions have been met with opposition Republicans who say it infringes on the Second Amendment right to bear arms, but Obama defended his legal authority in taking such steps. “I’m also confident that the recommendations that are being made by my team here are ones that are entirely consistent with the Second Amendment and people’s lawful right to bear arms,” he said on Monday. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4167475/obama-gun-control-executive-action/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4167475/obama-gun-control-executive-action/"},"headline":"4 Things to Know About President Obama's Executive Actions on Guns","datePublished":"2016-01-05T16:30:23.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T21:08:42.000Z","description":"The President will discuss the actions in a press conference Tuesday morning","url":"https://time.com/4167475/obama-gun-control-executive-action/","keywords":["White House"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt77c3b65d4ed18678/6988778df887dcb1a6e93fa5/barack-obama-guns.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt77c3b65d4ed18678/6988778df887dcb1a6e93fa5/barack-obama-guns.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Barack Obama,","caption":"Barack Obama speaks in the Oval Office in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 4, 2016.","creditText":"Pablo Martinez Monsivais—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4167475/obama-gun-control-executive-action/","name":"4 Things to Know About President Obama's Executive Actions on Guns"}}]}] ```