Reaction to national gun control proposals coming from both side - KXLT - Fox 47 Rochester MN News, Weather and Sports

ROCHESTER, Minn. (FOX 47)- It was Wednesday that President Obama made an announcement that could lead to the most comprehensive gun control legislation in our country's history.

He laid out 23 executive orders and encouraged Congress to reinstate portions of the gun control legislation that expired in 2004.

Both sides of the issue wasted no time speaking out.

A good number of his executive orders involved closing loopholes in the background check system and implementing more education in the school system, but now that action is being taken, the question now is will the gloves come off?

"From what I've seen, there's a lot of good points in there that are going to enhance the system."

Gary Schoenmann owns American Gunsmith in Rochester and feels that the President may be on the right track.

"Is Washington taking the right steps in getting the ball rolling on this? Yes. Could it have been done differently in the past? Absolutely. I mean, state to state we could've taken this initiative before all these bad things happened."

Others that heard the news had similar opinions.

"I don't know what the answer is, I believe that we have a right to own guns," says Wayne Boe of Stewartville, "but I personally cannot understand why somebody needs an assault rifle or a 30-round clip."

There were worries about the encroachment of rights, but in the end saving lives is taking precedent.

"It's just something that needs to be done," says Jody Marshall of Stewartville, "but I don't want to take everybody's rights to have guns, either."

When it come down to it, it means keeping weapons out of the wrong hands.

"Will it impact my business? Quite possibly it could, depending on what happens there," says Schoenmann. "But the reality of it is I don't want kids killed, I don't want teenagers killed at theatres, nobody wants that. We need to do the right thing to make sure the wrong people can't get access."

While the executive orders can go into effect immediately, President Obama's recommendations to Congress will go through the gauntlet of the legislature, so the gun control battle is far from over.