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In Washington D.C on April 8th, President Joe Biden said gun violence in the United States is “an international embarrassment”, according to The New York Times. President Joe Biden first wants to crack down on the rapid increase of “ghost guns” or other firearms made from kits, and said he is doing as he said he is doing as much as he can to confront the epidemic of shooting that is leading to 100 Americans dying every day.
The New York Times reported, “We’ve got a long way to go — it seems like we always have a long way to go” President Biden said this in the Rose Garden just weeks after the two mass shootings in Georgia and Colorado, which left 18 people dead, leaving the administration under pressure to take action.
One of the most key steps in stopping these shootings from happening is according to The New York Times, “directing the Justice Department to curb the spread of ghost guns.” The kits for these guns do not require a background check and do not come with a serial number so they are easy to purchase and hard to track. President Biden responds to this by saying that he wants these firearms to have serial numbers on them, so they are easier to track and require background checks for everyone that purchases the firearm kits. I want to see these kits treated as firearms under the Gun Control Act” the president says, reported by The New York Times.
The New York Times reported, “The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives estimated that 10,000 ghost guns were recovered by law enforcement in 2019.” Philadelphia, Baltimore, and San Deigo for example, have seen an increase of these guns recovered each year since then.
Experts say that these ghost guns mainly attract criminal organizations and right-wing extremist groups because they cannot be tracked. The shootings by these criminal groups are often linked to the state of California where they have strict gun laws.
Christian Heyne, the vice president of policy at Brady: United Against Gun Violence says to the New York Times, “Ghost guns are disproportionately impacting gun violence in communities of color and undermining states with strong gun laws.”
One example of a ghost being used is at the 2013 at San Monica College in California which five people were tragically killed. Another mass shooting took place in 2017 in Northern California, which the gunman killed his wife and four other people.
Ideas such as key gun laws, universal background checks, and banning assault rifles, remain on pause because of the narrow partisan divide of the Senate and the “60-vote requirement imposed by the filibuster.” The New York Times reports.
In many Republican-led states, the leeway of gun laws is more prominent. Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee on Thursday, signed into a law that allows most adults in the state of Tennessee to carry a handgun openly or concealed without a permit, background check, or even training.
Even though there is a strong Republican opposition, supporters from states with more restrictive gun laws and regulations, agree with what President Biden announced on Thursday what his next moves were. The New York Times reported, “President Biden ran on the strongest gun safety platform in history, and today he proved he’s going to govern like it,” this statement was said by John Feinblatt, the president of Everytown for Gun Safety.
President Biden also announced on Thursday that National Firearms Act should be in effect. This act says that guns such as a short-barrel rifle would require extra layers of regulation and more serious firearms and silencers including a background check, renewal of license, and fingerprinting.
The President says that the gunman in last month's Boulder Colorado mass shooting was using “a pistol with an arm brace, making it more stable and accurate,” The New York Times reported. Biden continued to say the Justice Department would publish a model called the “red flag” legislations for other states. This legislation would allow police officers and family members petition to the court to temporarily remove these firearms from someone who may present danger to themselves or other people. Even though the president cannot pass the red flag legislation now without Congress’ approval, officials say for any state that wants to adopt this legislation, they may do so now. “Red flag laws can stop mass shooters before they can act out their violent plans,” Biden says.
As of now, 19 states and Washington D.C have passed their own red flag laws. The states of Alaska and Wisconsin are considering passing their own, at it is not known if others will do the same because they are debating on whether the red flag legislation would be useful.
Aside from mass shootings, the leading cause of death of Black men ages 15 to 34 is due to gun violence, President Biden said in his remarks that the extra funding will go towards the community violence programs. Biden continued to say, “Gun violence in our neighborhood is having a profound impact on our children, even if they’re never involved in pulling the trigger or being the victim on the other side.” The New York Times reported.
The President also announced that the A.T.F “the embattled agency tasked with enforcing firearms laws” will do a new study of criminal trafficking which has not been done since 2000. The study will show proof that guns can be made from 3-D printing, plastic, and sold in assembly kits. David Chipman, a supporter of tighter gun rules was nominated by the president to lead this agency that has not been in place since 2015.
According to The New York Times, “In 2006, lawmakers allied with the National Rifle Association enacted a provision making the position of A.T.F. director subject to Senate confirmation. As a result, only one director, B. Todd Jones, who was nominated by President Barack Obama, has been confirmed over the past 15 years.”
What was presented by President Biden on Thursday, shows how difficult it is for Democrats to pass this agenda of guns since he is no longer in the Senate. The New York Times reported, “In 1993, Mr. Biden played a key role in the passage of the landmark Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, which was named for the onetime White House press secretary James S. Brady, who was shot in an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. A year later, Mr. Biden helped authorize a 10-year ban on assault weapons.”
When President Biden was vice president, he claims that the worst part was in 2013, when the Senate denied their proposal to expand background checks shortly after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that killed 26 people including 20 children. He mentioned on Thursday that there was only so much he could do without Congress and says we have a lot of work to do. Biden adds by calling gun violence “blemish on our character as a nation.”
The House passed two gun control bills last month but are still in the Senate waiting for the 60-vote threshold which is how most bills are passed. This requires support from at least 10 Republicans. The New York Times reports, “They have offered plenty of thoughts and prayers, members of Congress, but they have passed not a single federal law to reduce gun violence… Enough prayers. Time for action.” Biden said on Thursday.
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