According to a report in Politico, Rep. Steve Stockman (Texas) plans to impeach President Obama if the President carries out his plan to enact some gun control measures by executive order. Obama stated at his press conference today that he will make policy recommendations based upon what Vice-President Biden’s task force suggests. Previously, Biden stated that some of his sanctions may be accomplished through executive order rather than depend on the vagaries of Congress.

Stockman stated, “The President’s actions are an existential threat to this nation. The right of the people to keep and bear arms is what has kept this nation free and secure for over 200 years. The very purpose of the Second Amendment is to stop the government from disallowing people the means to defend themselves against tyranny. Any proposal to abuse executive power and infringe upon gun rights must be repelled with the stiffest legislative force possible.
The President’s actions are not just an attack on the Constitution and a violation of his sworn oath of office – they are a direct attack on Americans that place all of us in danger,” he said. “If the President is allowed to suspend constitutional rights on his own personal whims, our free republic has effectively ceased to exist.”

Stockman was elected to the House in November; he previously served in that august body from 1995 to 1997. When Texas redistricted its seats prior to the 1996 election, Stockman was gerrymandered out of his seat. He is thus once again a freshman. In his short stint thus far (about a week), he has already made his mark. He refused to vote for John Boehner for Speaker, and has made it clear that he intends to run for the Speakership eventually. It’s pretty obvious that Stockman did not come to DC this time to make friends; he came to make change.