President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the grief is still choking, the anger still visceral, in this suburban Los Angeles community where a gunman attacked a dance hall in January and killed 11 people. He announced new federal measures to curb gun violence but emotionally declared that more must be done.
“Do something. Do something big,” she pleaded.
“I am determined to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines,” Mr. Biden told the families of some of the victims, who were in the audience for his remarks, along with the 26-year-old man who shot a semi- The automatic pistol was snatched from the gunman.
Mr Biden’s rhetoric has grown stronger about guns – he regularly calls for a ban on assault weapons – pushing the gun control platform even further than it was during the Obama administration when he was vice president. made difficult His allies say he has been emboldened by the midterm elections when his regular talk of gun control did not lead to massive Democratic losses, and he is expected to continue arguing for strong changes.
“We remember and mourn today,” Mr. Biden said in Monterey Park. “But I’m here with you to act today.”
The president told the crowd that he had signed an executive order aimed at tightening background checks to buy guns, promoting more secure storage of firearms, and giving law enforcement agencies more access to the bipartisan gun control legislation enacted last summer. Make sure to get more.
But Mr. Biden has only limited power to go beyond that law, which was passed after the killings of 10 shoppers at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store and 19 students and two teachers at a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school. was given.
His action on Tuesday does not change government policy. Instead, it directs federal agencies to ensure compliance with existing laws and procedures—a typical feature of executive orders issued by presidents when they face limits on their power to act without cooperation from Congress.
Mr. Biden said, “Let’s be clear, none of this absolve Congress of its responsibility to act to introduce universal background checks, to end gun manufacturers’ immunity.”
Using emotion to pressure Congress to act, he detailed the lives of the Monterey Park victims: a dance hall manager who escorted patrons to their cars after lessons. Ready for an adventurous next trip abroad. A devoted grandfather.
Mr Biden, whose grief is well known to be familiar – his young daughter and wife were killed in a car crash in the 1970s and his adult son later died of cancer – After the initial shock, he said that the everyday things were gone; The way a closet still smells like loved ones, the sound of laughter, the shadow of a smile.
The victims in Monterey Park, where 20 were shot following Lunar New Year celebrations, were older Asian Americans, mostly in their 60s and 70s. Mr. Biden said they represent a powerful vision of America: “Our diversity is the strength of this country.”
His order on Tuesday directs the cabinet to complete the government’s plan to better structure support for communities victimized by gun violence. He said that if the Federal Emergency Management Agency can respond to natural disasters by providing on-the-ground support, the government should be able to do the same for mass shootings. More mental health support for grief and trauma, financial support for victims and for businesses closed during lengthy police investigations.
He’s instructing Attorney General Merrick Garland to shore up rules for federally licensed gun dealers to know they need to pass background checks as part of their licenses.
He is also mandating better reporting of ballistics data from federal law enforcement to a clearinghouse that allows federal, state and local law enforcement to match shell casings to guns. But local and state law enforcement agencies are not required to report ballistic data, and many do not, making the clearinghouse less effective.
And the president is asking the Federal Trade Commission to release a public report analyzing how gun makers market to minors and use military images for the general public.
“President Biden’s executive order today is a home run for public safety,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “This is the latest example of President Biden’s leadership on gun safety, and we are proud to stand with him as he takes strong action to help close the gun-seller loophole—the background threat to gun sales. Will expand testing, keep weapons out of the hands of dangerous people, and save lives. ,
The bill passed last year, known as the Safe Communities Act, is seen by gun control advocates as a good start, but it 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 that killed fewer than four people—and gun violence is also on the rise across the country.
Pro-gun groups said the order would do little to stop rising gun violence.
“The reality is that nothing in today’s presidential executive order would have done anything to prevent the recent mass shootings in California, Michigan or elsewhere,” said Katie Pointer Baney, president of the U.S. Concealed Carry Association. is the Managing Director of Government Affairs for “It is time for the President and political leaders across the country to have an honest conversation with the American people and acknowledge that there is no legislative solution that will permanently solve the issue of gun violence.”
Mr. Biden said he would direct his cabinet to ensure that law enforcement agencies, as well as citizens, understand the benefits of red-flag laws that aim to temporarily remove guns from people with potentially violent behavior and to prevent them from hurting themselves or others.
“So more parents, teachers and counselors know how to flag to the court that someone is exhibiting violent tendencies, or experiencing suicidal thoughts that make them a danger to themselves and others.”
Last month, the Justice Department sent more than $200 million to states and the District of Columbia to help administer red-flag laws and other crisis-intervention programs.