‘Finish the job’: Biden calls on lawmakers to hold the gun industry accountable when he issues an executive order

Two months after 11 people were killed and nine injured in a mass shooting that rocked Monterey Park, California, President Joe Biden acknowledged the “unbreakable spirits” of the Asian American community. sweeping executive order To “accelerate” his administration’s work on gun reform.

“This is a close-knit community of multigenerational families and a deep reverence and respect for seniors,” the president said in his remarks inside the Boys and Girls Club of West San Gabriel Valley on March 14.

Through the Covid-19 pandemic, an increase in anti-Asian hate crimes and a “horrific tragedy” as families celebrate the Lunar New Year, the community has become “a symbol of hope and resilience, pushing forward together, healing together”. added.

The community raised money for funeral costs and provided counseling and interpretation services to the families of the victims, “proving that even with heavy hearts, we have unbreakable spirits,” said the president.

He concluded his remarks by urging Congress to renew the federal ban on assault weapons and “repeal the immunity of gun manufacturers from liability” as the number of mass shootings in the United States during the first few months of 2023 has already reached more than 100.

He said, “Let’s finish the work.” “Ban assault rifles.” Do it again. Do something. Do something big.”

While Congress remains deadlocked, the president’s executive order intends to “get as close to universal background checks as possible” without legislation.

The president would need members of Congress to pass any actions toward the so-called “universal” background check process for firearm sales and to renew the ban on the so-called assault weapons ban that expired nearly 20 years ago. The recently Republican-controlled House of Representatives is unlikely to adopt any such measure.

Eighty-four percent of voters, including 77 percent of Republicans, support the idea, according to a 2021 poll. From Morning Consult and Politico.

The Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act, better known as the federal Assault Weapons Prohibition, was enacted in 1994 and expired in 2004, with several failed attempts in Congress to renew the ban after a series of massacres involving high-powered guns that had previously been banned. affected by the law.

a Study from Northwestern University It found that the ban prevented 11 mass shootings during the decade it was in effect. The study also estimates that keeping the ban in place through 2019 would have prevented 30 public shootings that killed 339 and injured 1,139 people.

Last year, the Democratic-controlled House voted narrowly to renew the ban, which stalled in the evenly divided Senate.

Last year, the president signed the bipartisan Safer Communities Act, “the most important gun safety law in nearly 30 years,” according to Biden.

Mr. Biden said the order announced March 14 “accelerates and intensifies” the administration’s work to combat the proliferation of high-powered and illegal weapons “to save more lives, more quickly.”

The order directs US Attorney General Merrick Garland to address a background check loophole by clarifying the definition of “involvement in the business” of selling firearms in an effort to improve enforcement of the law that Biden signed last year.

This law requires that anyone selling guns for profit obtain a license and conduct background checks on potential buyers. Clarifying the definition of a person “involved” in this type of business in federal law is expected to broaden the scope of this scrutiny.

“It’s just common sense,” Biden said. “Check if someone is a criminal domestic abuser before they buy a gun.”

The order also directs members of Biden’s cabinet and federal agencies to raise awareness of so-called “red flag” laws and procedures mandating safe storage.

The FTC will also be required to submit a report that “analyzes and exposes how gun manufacturers aggressively market firearms to civilians, especially minors,” Mr. Biden said.

Mr. Biden’s order also aims to help communities like Monterey Park recover in the aftermath of mass violence, including support for mental health services and financial assistance if “a family loses a single parent, or [if] The boss said a small business is closing because of a… shooting investigation.

On January 23, a gunman opened fire at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio after celebrating the Lunar New Year all day in a nearby street.

The gunman, who was identified as Hou Kan Tran, aged 72, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound during a confrontation with police the next day.

It was the deadliest mass shooting in Los Angeles County in modern history.

President Brandon Tsai, a 26-year-old man, recognized him and hailed him as a hero for stopping the gunman. Mr. Tsai, who was also a guest of Mr. Biden and First Lady Jill Biden’s recent State of the Union address, greeted Mr. Biden upon his arrival at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday.

“Twenty minutes into the rampage at the Star Ballroom, Brandon saw the same shooter enter his family’s dance studio just two miles away, pointing a gun at him,” Biden said. “In an instant, he found the courage to act and wrestle with a semi-automatic firearm. Brandon saved lives. He protected the community.”. “

He added, “The character of this community, the faith you have in this community, the pride — we see it in you throughout American life.”

Two days after the Monterey Park massacre, a mass shooting in Half Moon Bay, California, left seven people dead.

There have already been more than 100 mass shootings in the United States during the first three months of 2023, According to the Gun Violence Archive. The organization also found that the number of non-fatal shootings in the United States reached 6,000 during the first two and a half months of 2023. At least 3,549 people were killed by shootings.

Gun reform groups have welcomed the executive order, which Brady praised as a “major advance” on the path toward universal background checks.

“While we can ultimately achieve a global backdrop only through legislative action from Congress, President Biden’s announcement today brings us closer to that reality than any other president that has come before,” Brady Chairman Chris Brown said in a statement.

Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt and mass shooting in 2011, he said in a statement through its advocacy group Giffords Law Center that “more needs to be done, but there is no indication of how many lives will be saved thanks to the meaningful actions announced today.”

Everytown for Gun Safety He said That the president’s executive order will improve “community safety, hold the gun industry and rogue gun dealers in our communities accountable, and save lives.” Shannon Watts, Founder of Moms Demand Action, command is called “Lifesaving”.

Guns Down America also paid tribute but urged the White House to create an Office of Gun Violence Prevention to “address the full scope of this crisis.”