By: Dan Shaw, [email protected]//January 6, 2016//
The Wisconsin Attorney General says he plans have his staff review President Barack Obama’s recent executive order concerning gun control to see if it should be challenged legally.
Attorney General Brad Schimel released a statement Wednesday saying that “Obama once again intends to act unilaterally to restrict the 2nd Amendment and subvert the legislative process by issuing yet another executive order.” The president on Monday Obama announced an executive action aimed at ensuring those who try to buy firearms at gun shows, at flea markets or online first undergo background checks.
Schimel said he will decide if a court challenge should be mounted once his legal team has had time to review the order’s actual language. Schimel was encouraged to contest the order Wednesday by Gov. Scott Walker. Walker said Obama’s announcement has sowed uncertainty and fear among law-abiding citizens who want to sell guns and could deprive millions of Americans of their right to bear arms without any indication of imminent danger.
Schimel has proved willing in the past to contest presidential executive orders.
In April, Wisconsin joined 14 other states in a lawsuit challenging preliminary rules that would have forced them to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by certain percentages by 2030. A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., threw the lawsuit out in June, finding that the court lacked authority to review the rule since hadn’t yet been made final.
Schimel is now weighing a challenge of a new version of the rules, which now call for Wisconsin to reduce carbon emissions by 25 percent by 2024 and by 41 percent by 2030.
The Associated Press also contributed to this report.