Attorney General defends executive actions on guns as legal

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Loretta Lynch defended President Barack Obama's executive actions curbing guns before Congress on Wednesday, telling lawmakers that the president took lawful steps to stem firearms violence that kills and injures tens of thousands of Americans yearly.

Early in an election year in which both parties seem ready to make guns a political issue, Lynch called Obama's moves "well-reasoned measures, well within existing legal authorities, built on work that's already underway."

Shelby, who faces a conservative challenger in his March 1 Senate GOP primary, criticized Obama's response to recent mass shootings, including last month's killing of 14 people in San Bernardino, California, by a Muslim couple that authorities say had been radicalized.

Obama's actions include guidance on who the government will consider "in the business" of selling firearms — a phrase used to describe which dealers must obtain federal licenses and conduct background checks on buyers.

Other steps include hiring 230 more FBI background check examiners; adding 200 agents to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; boosting federal research on gun safety technology and asking Congress for $500 million to improve mental health programs.