SAN DIEGO (AP) — President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order Tuesday that seeks to increase background checks for gun purchases, promote better and safer storage of firearms and ensure that law enforcement agencies US law enforcement makes the most of a bipartisan. The gun control bill passed last summer.
The Democratic president plans to unveil his latest efforts to reduce gun violence in a speech in Monterey Park, Calif., a senior White House official who discussed the order before the signing said on condition of anonymity. In January, a gunman stormed a community dance hall near Los Angeles and shot 20 people, killing 11, following a Lunar New Year celebration.
Biden’s rhetoric has grown stronger around guns — he regularly calls for a ban on so-called assault weapons in his speeches — and Democrats haven’t promoted such an outspoken anti-gun platform even during the Obama administration, when Biden was vice president. But Biden has been buoyed by the midterms after his usual speech on gun control failed to produce heavy losses, and is expected to continue pushing for tough changes as he heads into 2024, aides say.
Biden invited Brandon Tsay, the 26-year-old who wrested the semi-automatic pistol from the Monterey Park gunman, to his State of the Union address and praised the young man’s heroism.
“He saved lives. It’s time to do the same,” Biden said in his address to Congress. “Ban assault weapons once and for all.”
But its power is limited in overcoming bipartisan legislation passed by Congress last summer, the most sweeping gun violence bill in decades. It followed the killing of 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
“Too many lives have been taken by gun violence,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “But he thinks we need to do more. You will hear him calling on Congress to act and not stop … that we must continue.”
Biden will direct his cabinet to work on a plan to better structure the government to support communities suffering from gun violence, said the senior White House official who anticipated the order. The plan would ask Attorney General Merrick Garland to tighten the rules for federally licensed gun dealers so they know they must run background checks as part of their license.
Biden is also pushing for better reporting of ballistics data from federal law enforcement agencies for a clearinghouse that would allow federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to match shell casings to handguns . But state and local law enforcement agencies are not required to report ballistics data, and many do not, making the clearinghouse less effective.
And the president will ask the Federal Trade Commission to issue a public report examining how gun manufacturers market to minors and use military imagery to market to the general public.
The bill passed last year, known as the Safer Communities Act, is seen by gun control advocates as a good start, but it doesn’t go far enough. Since the law was signed, there have been 11 more mass shootings, according to a 2006 mass crime database kept by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University. Those crimes do not include shootings in which fewer than four people were killed, and gun violence is also on the rise nationwide.
“President Biden’s executive order today is a home run for public safety,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “This is the latest example of President Biden’s leadership on gun safety, and we’re proud to stand with him as he takes decisive steps to help close the gun dealer loophole, which will significantly expand gun registration due diligence. out of the hands of dangerous people and save lives.”
Biden will also direct 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 intended temporarily remove weapons from people with potentially violent behavior and prevent them. to harm themselves or others.
Last month, the Justice Department sent more than $200 million to help states and the District of Columbia administer red flag laws and other crisis response programs.
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