President Barack Obama is working on more executive actions related to gun control following the shooting on an Oregon college campus last week that left nine dead.
"It's a high priority and will continue to be until we start to see more progress on this issue in this town," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said during the daily briefing on Monday.
Earnest said Obama was working behind the scenes to find ways to take actions,
Breitbart reported.
Obama enacted 23 executive actions in 2013 following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. He has expressed unhappiness that the Republican-controlled Congress has not taken action itself.
Earnest said he disagrees with anyone claiming that Obama did not offer specific proposals in his press conference about the shooting last week.
"I can tell you that they're not stumped, they're continuing to review the law that's on the books and continuing to consult with legal authorities but also others who may have ideas about what steps that can be taken to keep guns out of the hands of criminals," he said.
He admitted to not having any details on the administration's plans, but did criticize the so-called "gun-show loophole" that allows for people to buy guns from private occasional sellers without having to have a background check.
Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton on Monday
announced her own plans for executive actions if she is elected. Earnest said the White House welcomes her ideas, though he said he hasn't seen the details.
Clinton would use presidential executive authority to close a "loophole" to ensure people purchasing firearms at gun shows and online face the same background checks and sales taxes as buyers from traditional retailers.
Clinton would push Congress to prohibit domestic abusers, including stalkers, from purchasing guns and close what she called the "Charleston loophole," referring to a June shooting at a predominantly black church in South Carolina that left nine dead.
If a background check is not completed within three days, a sale can proceed. The alleged Charleston shooter could buy his gun because of this loophole, as did 2,500 people in 2014, Clinton's campaign said.
Clinton also said she would pursue the repeal of a 2005 law that she voted against as a U.S. senator representing New York. The legislation prevents victims of gun violence from holding negligent manufacturers and dealers accountable for crime committed with their guns.
"Nobody else is getting that immunity - and that just illustrates the extremism that has taken over this debate," Clinton said.
Demand for firearms surged in the past when consumers feared gun control legislation was coming. On Monday afternoon, Smith & Wesson shares were up 5.1 percent at $17.44, and Sturm Ruger & Co had risen 2.7 percent to $57.99.
Material from Reuters was used in this report.
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