Unable to overcome opposition to new gun laws from Republicans and a handful of conservative Democrats, the White House has resorted to issuing executive orders which do not need Congressional approval.
The new orders ban Americans from buying weapons that the US military has provided to foreign governments. Around 250,000 guns, including assault rifles, have been re-imported back into the US since 2005, according to White House figures.
A second order prevents gun buyers from registering machine guns or sawn-off shotguns to a corporation and therefore avoid undergoing a personal background check.
The White House said the orders were intended "make progress toward reducing gun violence" in the wake of the Newtown massacre even as "Congress fails to act on common-sense proposals".
The orders were released to coincide with the appointment of of the first full-time director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms - the agency responsible for enforcing gun laws - since 2006. Todd Jones was sworn in this morning after Senate Republicans dropped longstanding of blocking a permanent director.
Nearly a year after 20 children were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School, no new national gun laws have passed and opposition to fresh restrictions remains fierce.
Missouri, a Republican state, is expected to move next month to forbid national gun laws from being enforced within the state's borders.
The bill would make it a crime for FBI agents or others to enforce federal gun laws and would allow citizens to sue any law enforcement officer who arrested them.
It would also make it illegal to publish the names of gun owners as some local newspapers have done in an effort to shame opponents of gun control.
The law is almost certain to be struck down by the court as it appears to violate the federal government's power to make law as well as the right to free speech guaranteed by the US Constitution.
Source: Raf Sanchez The Telegraph