‘Do something big’: Joe Biden issues order to strengthen gun background checks
3 min read . Updated: 15 Mar 2023, 06:13 AM IST
PremiumAccording to the order by US President Joe Biden, the Cabinet needs to work on a plan to better structure the government to support communities suffering from gun violence.
With an aim to increase background checks to buy guns and promote more secure firearms storage, US President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed an executive order to ensure that US law enforcement agencies get more out of a bipartisan gun control law enacted last summer.
“Do something. Do something big," he implored.
He was to address his latest efforts to curb gun violence in a speech in this suburban Los Angeles community, where a gunman stormed a dance hall and shot 20 people, killing 11, following a Lunar New Year celebration in January. He was also meeting with families of victims and with first responders from that day.
Biden's rhetoric has grown ever stronger about guns — he routinely calls for banning assault weapons — in pushing a vocal gun-control platform even tougher than during the Obama administration when he was vice president, according to The Associated Press.
His aides said that Biden has been emboldened by the midterm elections when his regular talk of gun control did not result in massive losses, and he is expected to continue to argue for strong changes as he inches toward a 2024 reelection run.
The US President was greeted at the Los Angeles airport Tuesday by Brandon Tsay, the 26-year-old who wrestled the semiautomatic pistol away from the gunman in Monterey Park. The two shook hands; Biden had invited Tsay to his State of the Union address in January where he praised the young man's heroism, as per AP reports.
But the president has only limited power on guns to go beyond bipartisan legislation passed by Congress last summer after the killings last year of 10 shoppers at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store and 19 students and two teachers at a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school.
Tuesday's action does not change U.S. government policy. Rather, it directs federal agencies to ensure compliance with existing laws and procedures — a typical feature of executive orders issued by presidents when they confront the limits of their own power to act without cooperation from Congress.
In the order, Biden acknowledged Congress' opposition but said, “In the meantime, my administration will continue to do all that we can, within the existing authority, to make our communities safer."
According to the order, the Cabinet needs to work on a plan to better structure the government to support communities suffering from gun violence. The plan calls on Attorney General Merrick Garland to shore up the rules for federally licensed gun dealers so they know they are required to do background checks as part of the license.
Biden is also mandating better reporting of ballistics data from federal law enforcement for a clearinghouse that allows federal, state and local law enforcement to match shell casings to guns.
In addition, the president is also asking the Federal Trade Commission to issue a public report analyzing how gun manufacturers market to minors and use military images to market to the general public.
John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety said that President Biden's executive order today is a home run for public 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 robust 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," Feinblatt said as quoted by AP.
The bill passed last year, known as the Safer Communities Act, is viewed by gun control advocates as a good start but one that doesn't go far enough. After the law was signed, there were 11 other mass shootings, according to a database of mass killings since 2006 maintained by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University. Those killings don't include shootings in which fewer than four people were killed — and gun violence is also rising nationwide.
(With AP inputs)