Former U.S. attorney general Ed Meese says President Obama will risk impeachment if he goes too far on gun control.

A fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation and a former attorney general under Ronald Reagan, Meese warned in an interview with conservative website Newsmax that it would be unconstitutional for Obama to enact aggressive gun-control measures through executive order.

"It would not be legal. It would not be constitutional. And, indeed, if he tried to override the Second Amendment in any way, I believe it would be an impeachable offense," Meese told Newsmax.

Obama is considering a set of executive actions on guns that would not require congressional approval.

"Then, it would be up to the Congress to take action, such as looking to it to see if, in fact, he has really tried to override the Constitution itself," Meese said. "In which case it would be up to them to determine what action they should take, and perhaps even to the point of impeachment."

The Constitution has this to say about impeachable offenses, in Article II, Section 4: "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."