Every time President Barack Obama has tried a broad-reaching executive order, the courts have shut him down, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., said Monday, calling for him to work with Congress instead on gun control legislation.
"The president may not like what Congress has done," the Illinois Republicans told
Fox News' "Fox & Friends" program. "Congress may be unpopular. We all get that, we understand it. That doesn't mean Congress doesn't exist. That doesn't mean you conveniently get to throw out the Constitution."
And most of all, at the end of the day, controlling guns "would not have stopped any of these tragic mass shootings from happening," Kinzinger said.
He continued that his home state has some of the nation's tightest gun laws, and just recently, concealed carry laws were passed.
"But there's a lot of violence," he said. "There's a lot of gun violence that happens in Chicago. It's one of the strictest cities on guns. It's not an issue of gun availability, it's an issue of the heart of people."
Meanwhile, there have been tens of thousands of people already flagged in background investigations, and only a few were ever prosecuted, he said.
"Let's prosecute people that shouldn't be buying guns," said Kinzinger. "Let's ensure that folks that are actually terrorists aren't buying guns. But to say we'll deny somebody due process under the Second Amendment because of their names — Ted Kennedy was on the do not fly list for instance."
Also on the program, Kinzinger spoke about House Speaker Paul Ryan's conservative agenda, including discussion on Obamacare repeal.
"Last year was a rough year for Republicans," said Kinzinger. "We know that. There was a lot of infighting. There was a lot of fighting the president unsuccessfully. Now is our opportunity with some of the big fights behind us to move forward and frankly, show the American people what we stand for."