Despite Obama’s actions on gun control, there is little he is able to do to change the status quo.

In the two weeks since President Obama announced his latest tranche of executive orders on guns, many Republicans have accused him of making a dramatic power grab over the legislature. Alex Bolton and Sharece Thrower disagree, writing that there is little guarantee that any of Obama’s instructions will actually be executed, and those that are may be overturned by the courts. They argue that Obama’s actions actually exemplify the constraints faced by presidents who try to make policy without Congress.