The back door remains open

No new push for gun control.  That's how most media spin comments made by presidential press secretary Jay Carney over the weekend. Carney's comments, first reported at Politico.com, specifically said there would be no push to re-enact the long-expired 'assault weapon ban:

“As you know, there’s been opposition to that since it expired within Congress,” Carney said. “The president is focused on doing the things that we can do that protect Second Amendment rights which he thinks is important but also make it harder for individuals who should not under existing law have weapons to obtain them.”

Carney seems pretty clear the president doesn't plan to go through Congress for any new gun control. But there's plenty in this statement to suggest the president remains open to doing end-runs by using regulatory means. 

The Obama team's bypassed Congress before. It involved us in an air war over Libya. And it got creative in efforts to legalize illegal aliens when Congress didn't come through the way it wanted. Gun control may well be the next biggie to get the go-it-alone treatment. The probability would likely grow significantly if Mr. Obama wins a second term.

And if recent speculation about UN arms treaty talks is accurate, Mr. Obama could couch a bunch of new rules and regs as simply complying with international priorities to make the whole world a safer place. Of course, he'd have to insist whatever he does doesn't infringe on the Constitution's Second Amendment. But remember, he's also the same president who still insists the Obamacare penalty isn't a tax.