Why one gun owner isn't concerned about the president's new plan

Barack Obama with Joe Biden
An emotional President Barack Obama, joined by Vice President Joe Biden, pauses as he recalled the 20 first-graders killed in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School, while speaking in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016, about steps his administration is taking to reduce gun violence.
Jacquelyn Martin | AP

When President Obama announced that he would take executive action to address the issue of gun control, some gun owners braced for more restrictions.

On Tuesday, however, it became clear that the president's plan was more of a clarification of existing laws rather than new regulations.

Bryan Strawser, executive director of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, joined MPR News host Tom Weber to discuss the announcement.

"If I was a gun control activist, I think I'd be pretty unhappy at how modest this actually is," Strawser said. "What he's outlined today and what will be in the final executive order is already the law."

Strawser said he did not see how the increased enforcement of preexisting background check regulations would affect the mass shootings the president referenced in his speech.

"Nothing that I heard that he proposed is going to stop any of the mass shooting that we've seen in the last few years."

To hear the full discussion with Brian Strawser about President Obama's gun control plan, use the audio player above.

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