Edwin Meese, former U.S. attorney general under former president Ronald Reagan, has become the latest prominent Republican to raise the specter of President Barack Obama’s impeachment over his anticipated executive orders on gun control.
The president is expected to unveil a set of legislative proposals as well as executive orders to curb gun violence in America in the wake of the tragic massacre of 20 school children in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, 2012.
Meese argues that Republicans in Congress could try to remove Obama from office if he were “to try to override the Second Amendment in any way.”
“It would be up to the Congress to take action, such as looking in to it to see if, in fact, he has really tried to override the Constitution itself,” Meese told the conservative publication Newsmax. “In which case, it would be up to them to determine what action they should take — and perhaps even to the point of impeachment.”
These remarks come on the heels of similar threats from right wing congressman Steve Stockman that he would be forced to file articles of impeachment against Obama if he were to take what he considers extreme action on guns.
“The White House’s recent announcement they will use executive orders and executive actions to infringe on our constitutionally-protected right to keep and bear arms is an unconstitutional and unconscionable attack on the very founding principles of this republic,” Stockman said in a statement. “I will seek to thwart this action by any means necessary, including but not limited to eliminating funding for implementation, defunding the White House, and even filing articles of impeachment.”
The president is expected to make his first major foray into the debate tomorrow, when he officially announces his new proposals.
