As Obama prepares executive orders on guns, BBC News visits an American gun show

(Image credit: BBC News/YouTube)

last updated 5 January 2016

On Tuesday, President Obama is going to issue some modest executive orders aimed at curbing gun violence, mainly by broadening the pool of U.S. gun dealers that need to perform federal background checks. "In America, where the right to bear arms is engrained in the Constitution, any moves by the president to tighten the rules will be fiercely resisted," says BBC News correspondent Jon Sopel, reporting from a big gun show in Maryland. Sopel talks with a Burberry scarf–wearing mother buying a laser sight for her gun, a member of the "Virginia Citizens Defense League," and an unlicensed gun seller who actually agrees with Obama that the "gun hole loophole" is ludicrous.

"In America, guns are seen as a symbol of freedom and liberty, an intrinsic component to national identity," Sopel says with dramatic flair, "and it's part of the national psyche from an early age." You can watch this British perspective on American gun culture below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.