On Tuesday, President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order aimed at increasing the number of background checks for gun purchases, promoting better and more secure firearms storage, and ensuring that U.S. law enforcement agencies are maximising a bipartisan gun control law enacted last summer.
A senior White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in advance of the order’s signing, disclosed that the Democratic president planned to deliver a speech from Monterey Park, California, announcing his new attempts to limit gun violence. After a Lunar New Year party in January, a gunman entered a dance hall in a town near Los Angeles and shot 20 people, killing 11.
Biden often calls for the prohibition of so-called assault weapons in his speeches, and Democrats did not embrace such a strident anti-gun stance during the Obama administration, when Biden was vice president. Biden has been encouraged by the midterms, as his constant discussion of gun control did not result in big losses, and his allies anticipate that he will continue to press for significant changes as he draws closer to a 2024 presidential candidature.
Biden welcomed Brandon Tsay, the 26-year-old who grabbed the semiautomatic weapon from the shooter in Monterey Park, to his State of the Union speech and hailed the young man for his bravery.
“He saved lives. It is time for us to do the same,” Biden stated in his address to Congress. “Prohibit assault weapons permanently.”
Nevertheless, he lacks the authority to move beyond the bipartisan measure enacted by House this summer, the most comprehensive gun control legislation in decades. It followed the murders of 10 consumers at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, and 19 kids and two instructors at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, the previous year.
Too many lives have been lost to gun violence, according to the press secretary of the White House, Karine Jean-Pierre. Yet, he feels we must do more. You will hear him urge Congress to act and not to stop… that we must continue.”
According to a senior White House source who previewed the order, Vice President Biden will direct his Cabinet to work on a proposal to restructure the government to better serve areas afflicted by gun violence. The plan will compel Attorney General Merrick Garland to strengthen the standards for federally licenced gun dealers so they are aware that background checks are a condition of their licencing.
Biden is also demanding improved reporting of ballistics data by federal law enforcement for a clearinghouse that allows federal, state, and local law enforcement to connect bullet casings to firearms. Nevertheless, local and state law enforcement agencies are not obligated to provide ballistics data, and many do not, reducing the effectiveness of the clearinghouse.
In addition, the president will request that the Federal Trade Commission publish a study assessing how gun manufacturers sell to minors and how they utilise military imagery in marketing to the wider public.
Gun control proponents consider the Safer Communities Act, which was approved last year, as a step in the right direction but not enough. According to a database of mass murders since 2006 kept by The Associated Press, USA Today, and Northeastern University, eleven further mass shootings occurred after the bill was enacted. These homicides do not include fewer-than-four-victim shootings, and gun violence is also on the rise countrywide.
“Today’s executive action by President Biden is a home run for public safety,” said Everytown for Gun Safety president John Feinblatt. “This is the latest example of President Biden’s leadership on gun safety, and we’re proud to stand with him as he takes strong action to help close the gun-seller loophole, which will significantly expand background checks on gun sales, keep weapons out of the hands of dangerous individuals, and save lives.”
Biden will also instruct his Cabinet to ensure that law enforcement agencies understand the benefits of the new law, particularly with regard to red-flag laws, also known as extreme risk protection orders, which are designed to temporarily remove firearms from people with potentially violent behaviour to prevent them from harming themselves.
The Justice Department disbursed almost $200 million to assist states and the District of Columbia in implementing red-flag legislation and other crisis-intervention programmes last month.
