ñIncreasing gun regulations has always been one of the goals of President Obama’s administration, but progress thus far has been arrested due to opposition in Congress. However, the president’s speech on gun control last Tuesday may indicate that the New Year will bring greater changes to this issue than any previous.

In his speech, President Obama stated his desire to increase gun regulations while noting such reforms can be achieved without infringing on Americans’ Second Amendment rights. His recognition of the Second Amendment was meant to pacify several conservative presidential candidates who he addressed, saying: “Contrary to the claims of what some gun rights proponents have suggested, this hasn’t been the first step in some slippery slope to mass confiscation. Contrary to claims of some presidential candidates, apparently, before this meeting, this is not a plot to take away everybody’s guns.”

According to Fox News, the president left a seat empty in a place of honor next to the first lady during his speech. The seat was left empty to honor the memories of all Americans who have lost their lives due to gun violence.

Obama outlined how he planned to reduce gun violence in a four-step plan. His first step will be to ensure that everyone selling firearms must be licensed and conduct background checks. This will help prevent people buying guns from exploiting previous loopholes in the laws, such as purchasing guns online with little to no restrictions.

For his second step, the president wants to better enforce existing gun control laws. He plans to have the FBI hire 230 new employees so that background checks can be more extensive and faster.

His third step will be to expand healthcare for the mentally ill, who  largely contribute to the number of suicides by guns, which constitutes two-thirds of the total yearly amount of Americans killed by guns.

In his fourth step, the president announced that funding would be provided to develop gun safety technology such as software that would allow people to locate stolen or missing guns, or guns that can be locked by fingerprint.

According to a poll conducted by CNN, a majority of Americans from across party lines favored the president’s new measures, but were skeptical of their efficacy.

Opposition to Obama’s announcement didn’t stem solely from the content of his prepositions. Rather, many conservatives were dissatisfied with how Obama planned to enact these reforms.

Due to the consistent lack of cooperation by Congress, the president has decided to implement these reforms through executive action, effectively going over Congress’s head.

The Washington Times reports that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called these executive orders “no good” and “no fair” as he expressed his desire for a federal government that is not divided by these issues.

To defend and explain his recent announcement, the president appeared in a town hall gun discussion hosted by CNN, where he spoke with both supportive and opposing Americans about his executive orders. The NRA refused to participate in or attend the event.

Despite opposition, Obama supports the message of his speech that Americans need to feel a sense of urgency about gun control, saying “We do not have to accept this carnage as the price of freedom.”