--- title: President Obama Tackles Gun Control in First Week Back description: After two weeks away, Obama's taking on gun control to kick off final year canonical: https://time.com/4166010/president-obama-gun-control/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-04T16:01:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T13:44:39.103Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Obama Starts Final Year in Office by Tackling Gun Control og:description: Obama is considering taking executive action on gun control og:url: https://time.com/4166010/president-obama-gun-control/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8be164acfbf3d7f3/698877632dce011cdd9e72a0/502016172.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: President Obama Visits San Bernardino og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama Starts Final Year in Office by Tackling Gun Control twitter:description: Obama is considering taking executive action on gun control twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8be164acfbf3d7f3/698877632dce011cdd9e72a0/502016172.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama Starts Final Year in Office by Tackling Gun Control > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### 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 [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jan 4, 2016 4:01 PM UTC  U.S. President Barack Obama speaks to the media at Indian Springs High School on December 18, 2015 in San Bernardino, California. Obama was in town to meet privately with the families of the victims of the San Bernardino terrorist attack.Wally Skalij—LA Times via Getty Images U.S. President Barack Obama speaks to the media at Indian Springs High School on December 18, 2015 in San Bernardino, California. Obama was in town to meet privately with the families of the victims of the San Bernardino terrorist attack.Wally Skalij—LA Times via Getty Images Wally Skalij—LA Times/Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jan 4, 2016 4:01 PM UTC Fresh off a two-week vacation, President Obama is spending his first week back at the White House talking gun control. On Monday, the President is meeting in the Oval Office with Attorney General Loretta Lynch, FBI Director James Comey and the deputy director of the ATF to discuss executive actions he can take to combat gun violence in America, and on Thursday he will participate in a gun control town hall discussion hosted by [CNN.](http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/03/politics/barack-obama-guns-town-hall/) President Obama began reconsidering taking executive action on gun control in the wake of the mass shooting at an Oregon community college. At the time, Obama was reportedly [considering a reboot](http://time.com/4068040/barack-obama-gun-control-executive-actions/) of a 2013 proposal that would expand the definition of who is considered a gun dealer and is therefore required conduct background checks on potential buyers. An administration official said in October that the timing on the gun executive action was up in the air, but it seems to be taking center stage as the President kicks off the first week of his final year in office. Obama has had no luck getting substantive gun control legislation passed in Congress, despite a series of mass shootings during his second term. Over the course of his two terms in office, Obama has delivered speeches on gun violence in the wake of [nearly a dozen tragedies](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/10/02/11-mass-shootings-11-speeches-how-obama-has-responded/73177526/). He usually struck a somber tone, but following the Oregon college shooting in October he was visibly angered by the fact that he was discussing the same issue yet again. The bulk of his frustration has been directed at Congress, which hasn’t budged on gun control during Obama’s time in office. “Our thoughts and prayers are not enough. It’s not enough,” Obama said hours after the shooting at Umpqua Community College. “It does not capture the heartache and grief and anger that we should feel. And it does nothing to prevent this carnage from being inflicted someplace else in America — next week, or a couple of months from now.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4166010/president-obama-gun-control/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4166010/president-obama-gun-control/"},"headline":"President Obama Starts Final Year in Office by Tackling Gun Control","datePublished":"2016-01-04T16:01:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T13:44:39.103Z","description":"Obama is considering taking executive action on gun control","url":"https://time.com/4166010/president-obama-gun-control/","keywords":["White House","Barack Obama","Obama","Gun Control","President Obama"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8be164acfbf3d7f3/698877632dce011cdd9e72a0/502016172.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8be164acfbf3d7f3/698877632dce011cdd9e72a0/502016172.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Obama Visits San Bernardino","caption":"President Obama Visits San Bernardino","creditText":"Wally Skalij—LA Times/Getty Images","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/4166010/president-obama-gun-control/","name":"President Obama Starts Final Year in Office by Tackling Gun Control"}}]}] ```