On Tuesday, President Joe Biden issued an executive order to strengthen background checks for gun purchases, encourage safer firearm storage, and ensure that American law enforcement agencies benefit from the bipartisan gun control measure passed last summer.
In a speech in this suburban Los Angeles neighborhood, where a gunman invaded a dance hall and shot 20 people, killing 11, after a Lunar New Year celebration in January, the Democratic president was scheduled to discuss his most recent efforts to reduce gun violence.
He also visited with the first responders from that day and the families of the fatalities.
Biden had pushed a vociferous gun-control program even more challenging than when he was vice president under President Obama.
He regularly advocates for banning assault weapons in his discourse regarding guns.
As he moves closer to a 2024 reelection bid, he is anticipated to continue advocating for significant changes, according to his aides.
He has been given confidence by the midterm elections, where his frequent mention of gun control didn’t result in substantial losses.
Brandon Tsay, a 26-year-old who pulled the semiautomatic pistol away from the shooter in Monterey Park, met Biden at the Los Angeles airport on Tuesday.
Biden had invited Tsay to his State of the Union address in January when he had commended the young man’s bravery, and the two shook hands.
The bipartisan law on gun control passed by Congress this summer in response to the murders of 19 children and two instructors at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and ten shoppers at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, last year, gives the president only limited authority.
Tuesday’s event had no impact on current U.S. government policies. Instead, it instructs federal agencies to ensure that existing rules and regulations are followed, a characteristic of executive orders issued by presidents when they encounter the limits of their authority to act without the support of Congress.
While acknowledging Congress’ resistance, Biden stated in the order, “In the interim, my administration will continue to do all that we can, within current power, to make our communities safer.”
The order instructs the Cabinet to develop a better strategy to organize the government to assist gun-violence-affected neighborhoods.
The proposal asks Attorney General Merrick Garland to strengthen the regulations governing gun dealers with federal licenses so that they know that background checks are a requirement of the license.
For a clearinghouse that enables federal, state, and local law enforcement to link shell casings to guns, Biden also requires better reporting of ballistics data from federal law enforcement.
However, local and state law enforcement agencies don’t need to report ballistics data, and many do not, which reduces the effectiveness of the clearinghouse.
Also, the president requests that the Federal Trade Commission publish a report examining how gun makers market to children and how they use military imagery to appeal to the broader public.
John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, said President Biden’s executive action was “a home run for public safety” today.
This is the most recent instance of President Biden’s gun safety leadership, and we’re proud to support him as he takes decisive 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 people, and save lives.
Advocates for gun control see the Safer Communities Act, a bill that was passed last year, as a promising beginning but one that doesn’t go far enough.
According to a database of mass killings since 2006, kept by The Associated Press, USA Today, and Northeastern University, there were 11 additional mass shootings after the bill was signed.
The number of shootings that result in fewer than four fatalities is not included in those killings, yet gun violence is rising nationwide.
According to pro-gun groups, the ruling won’t significantly reduce the rising gun violence.
According to Katie Pointer Baney, Managing Director of Government Affairs for the United States, “nothing in the president’s executive order today would have done anything to prevent the recent mass killings in California, Michigan, or elsewhere.
Association for Concealed Carry. It’s time for the president and other political figures to be open with the American people and admit that there isn’t a legislative solution to end gun violence.
Additionally, Biden will instruct his Cabinet to ensure that law enforcement agencies are aware of the advantages of the new legislation, particularly about red-flag laws, also known as extreme risk protection orders, which are meant to temporarily take away firearms from individuals with potentially violent behavior and prevent them from hurting themselves or others.
More than $200 million was distributed by the Justice Department last month to assist states and the District of Columbia with managing red-flag laws and other crisis intervention programs.
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