Biden Announces Gun Reform Executive Actions In Wake Of Mass Shootings In The U.S.

The White House has previously said voters who want meaningful change on the contentious issue should lobby Congress.

President Joe Biden speaks about gun violence prevention in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 8, 2021. Biden on Thursday called U.S. gun violence an "epidemic" at a White House ceremony to unveil new attempts to get the problem under control | Getty Images
President Joe Biden speaks about gun violence prevention in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 8, 2021. Biden on Thursday called U.S. gun violence an "epidemic" at a White House ceremony to unveil new attempts to get the problem under control | Getty Images

President Joe Biden announced new gun reform executive actions on Thursday, saying in a press conference that “gun violence in this country is an epidemic. And it’s an international embarrassment.” The president’s gun reform actions follow several recent high-profile mass shootings in the U.S. 

In a White House announcement, the Biden administration said it will pursue six initial actions that do not require Congressional approval. With a slim Democratic majority in the Senate, Biden has introduced these actions as calls for change mount and Congress remains gridlocked on passing meaningful legislation.

“Whether Congress acts or not, I'm going to use all of the resources at my disposal as president of the United States to protect Americans from gun violence,” Biden continued. 

The actions include requiring the Department of Justice to issue regulations on “ghost guns,” or homemade gun kits that do not include serial numbers, making them difficult to trace. The DOJ will also have to restrict access to stabilizing braces, which help make certain semi-automatic weapons shoot more accurately. The recent shooting suspect accused of killing 10 people in a grocery store in Colorado last month used a stabilizing brace, according to the White House. 

Biden also dismissed the “phony” arguments that gun reform actions infringe on Second Amendment rights, a claim frequently levied by conservatives.

Some gun safety advocates remain frustrated as these initial actions are not as robust as what Biden called for during his campaign — including that he would address gun violence on day one of his administration.

But other parts of Biden’s plan are drawing praise, including an investment in community-based outreach and violence intervention programs, which advocates say are some of the most effective tools in reducing violence. The administration also wants to model “red flag” legislation for states to pass — a concept that would allow law enforcement or family members to petition a court to ban people in crisis from purchasing weapons. The White House said it's pushing Congress to pass similar legislation on a federal level, which some Senate Republicans have supported in the past. 

Another notable move is Biden’s nomination of David Chipman, a gun reform advocate, as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — an agency that has been without a permanent director since 2015, according to multiple outlets.

Biden’s actions come after another mass shooting in South Carolina, where five people were shot and killed inside a home on Wednesday. In March, eight people were shot and killed at three Atlanta-area spas, followed by a mass shooting in Colorado. 

According to Everytown For Gun Safety, a nonprofit organization that advocates for gun reform, an average of 38,826 gun deaths occur in the U.S. every year, based on data compiled between 2015 and 2019. The homicide gun death rate in the U.S. is 25 times higher than that of other high-income countries, a 2019 comparative study found. In 2021, more than 11,000 gun deaths have occurred in the U.S., according to the Gun Violence Archive. 

“Each of these executive actions will start to address the epidemic of gun violence that has raged throughout the pandemic, and begin to make good on President Biden’s promise to be the strongest gun safety president in history,” John Feinblatt, president of Everytown said in a statement.

March For Our Lives, the organization founded by school shooting survivors and students in the wake of the 2018 Parkland mass shooting, commended Thursday’s announcement as a good start, and noted much more needs to be done.

“Young people have called for bold, forceful action to end this crisis and we are encouraged to see the administration begin to fulfill some of its campaign promises, especially in the wake of a series of preventable gun tragedies,” their statement read, adding: “Even so, there remains more to be done. We've called on President Biden to issue executive orders that close the boyfriend loophole, and hold gun manufacturers accountable by revoking licenses from manufacturers who break the law.” 

March For Our Lives has also asked that Biden appoint a Director of Gun Violence Prevention, or gun violence “czar,” as some lawmakers have also called for, to reflect “the understanding that this crisis disproportionately impacts our most vulnerable populations, and requires the full weight of our government to bring innovative, comprehensive solutions.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that stabilizing braces help automatic weapons fire more accurately. The braces are more commonly used for semi-automatic weapons, which is also how the Biden administration referred to their use. This article has been updated to reflect those changes.