Today, President Biden ordered new actions in the effort to stem gun violence in the U.S. The following is from his introduction to this new order:
“Every few days in the United States, we mourn a new mass shooting. Daily acts of gun violence — including community violence, domestic violence, suicide, and accidental shootings — may not always make the evening news, but they too cut lives short and leave survivors and their communities with long-lasting physical and mental wounds. We cannot accept these facts as the enduring reality of life in America. Instead, we must together insist that we have had enough, and that we will no longer allow the interests of the gun manufacturers to win out over the safety of our children and Nation.
“It is the policy of my Administration that executive departments and agencies (agencies) will pursue every legally available and appropriate action to reduce gun violence. Through this whole-of-government approach, my Administration has made historic progress to save lives. My Administration has taken action to keep guns out of dangerous hands and especially dangerous weapons off of our streets; hold gun traffickers and rogue gun dealers accountable; fund accountable, effective community policing; and invest in community violence interventions and prevention strategies.
“Last year, I signed into law the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant bipartisan gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years. The Act provides communities with new tools to combat gun violence, including enhanced gun background checks for individuals under age 21, funding for extreme risk protection orders and other crisis interventions, and increased mental health resources to help children impacted by gun violence heal from the resulting grief and trauma.
“I continue to call on the Congress to take additional action to reduce gun violence, including by banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, requiring background checks for all gun sales, requiring safe storage of firearms, funding my comprehensive Safer America Plan, and expanding community violence intervention and prevention strategies. In the meantime, my Administration will continue to do all that we can, within existing authority, to make our communities safer.”
