Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jim Risch issued the following statement in response to President Obama’s executive orders on gun control that were announced earlier today:

 “This president, more than any other, has violated the constitutional separation of powers in which the legislative branch enacts laws and the executive branch executes those laws. His excuse that the legislative branch is not doing its job could not be further from the truth. Indeed, the legislative branch continues to actively battle against and refuses to enact further gun control laws. That legislative function belongs to the first branch of government, not the second.

 “I fully understand that the president and the left strongly disagree with Congress’ refusal to further restrict the rights of law-abiding gun owners but that is the right of the Congress, and indeed, it is their duty and constitutional responsibility to the people who elected them. Those like the president, who want stricter gun laws, must do so by electing a pro-gun control Congress and not try unconstitutional lawmaking by the executive branch. Idahoans and Americans have steadfastly refused to elect a majority in Congress who favor stricter gun control. Americans have the right to do so.”

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