Re: It could be much much worse...
Executive Orders are not inherently evil. Have you looked at the list? Huge numbers of mundane but important governmental changes that are not quite worth all the bother of the congressional process.
The difference with Obama is that his are far more sweeping and will affect the public in a big way. That sort of change is the purview of Congress, not the President. Obama just can't accept that Congress won't kiss his ass any more, so he's trying to assume their powers, as wannabe dictators will do.
And about your assertion that "...an overwhelming majority of Americans actually want gun control...", that lie is old and tired, and should be taken out back and shot.
Americans are buying guns at record rates and have been since Obama was elected. We know that our guns are the only thing giving Obama and the hard-core Left pause when they consider how to gain permanent control over the population. Basically we'd rather live with the problems guns create than live with Emperor Barrack Hussein Obama the First.
And no, we don't expect to stand off the US Military; our bullets are meant for any brownshirt goons that he might try to raise against us. Obama hinted at just that when he was elected. Remember this gem from his first campaign?
"We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded."
And now he's trying to organize the local police thruout the country into one big organization, supposedly because they are all racists who love to kill little black boys skipping down the street.
And he's going to use executive orders to do so.