Is Trump's announced bump stock EO a trial balloon for dictatorship?
An Executive Order is a presidential proclamation that can be used for two things: directing the operations of a government agency, or controlling the operation of an existing law.
Mr. Trump attempts neither with his proposed executive order banning bump stocks. He is attempting to create a completely new law. The Constitution is extremely clear on how new laws are to be made - they have to be passed in exactly the same form by both houses of Congress (in cases where a bill passed by one chamber is amended by the other, members of both chambers are required to negotiate a common bill and send it back to be revoted on) and then presented to the President, who can sign them into law, veto them or allow them to become law without his signature by sitting on them for two weeks.
The Constitution does NOT say "a president who can't get what he wants from a useless Congress can create new laws unilaterally." (If it did, President Obama would have been the most productive president of the last 150 years.)
My feeling is that Trump chose this particular trial balloon because it's something Democrats want to happen - not Trump making things up as he goes, but the elimination of bump stocks from our midst. If we complain he'll stay up all night tweetstorming us. If we let him get away with his attempt at divine right, he'll tweetstorm us over our two-faced reaction..."it was okay for me to write a new law when it was something they liked, why not now?"
Trump wants a "terrific" bill to be sent to him. The only "terrific" bill our useless Congress needs to send him is a writ of impeachment.
