President Joe Biden announced six actions Thursday that will aim to address the rising ride of mass shootings, according to ABC.
One of those actions include asking the Department of Justice to create a rule that would slow the rise of “ghost guns” within 30 days. Ghost guns can be put together from parts sold online that don’t have serial numbers, are hard to track and are unregulated. The DOJ will also be expected to create a rule that devices marked as stabilizing braces, which turn pistols into short-barreled rifles, be subject to the National Firearms Act.
Here is more on what Biden has in mind, per the New York Times:
Finally, the Justice Department will also publish model “red flag” legislation for states. The measure would allow police officers and family members to petition a court to temporarily remove firearms from people who may present a danger to themselves or others. While Mr. Biden cannot pass national red flag legislation without Congress, officials said the goal of the guidance was to make it easier for states that want to adopt it to do so now. The department also plans to release a comprehensive report on firearms trafficking, which it has not done since 2000.
Mr. Biden’s jobs plan calls on Congress to invest $5 billion over eight years to support evidence-based community violence intervention programs. Officials would not say whether they planned to try to increase the budget for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, a move gun control advocates have pressed for.
Biden would ideally do all of this through Congress and codify his gun reform objectives into law, but Democrats have very vulnerable majorities in the House and Senate. Add this to the fact that some Democrats, especially in the Senate, oppose getting rid of the filibuster rule that would make it easier for Democrats to govern.
So, executive orders are the best Biden can do at the moment.
The House passed two gun reform bills last month that would expand background checks on commercial gun sales, but they will certainly face an uphill battle in the senate.
Keep in mind that Biden will announce his executive orders on the very day that a former NFL player is believed to have killed five people, including himself, in a mass shooting in South Carolina on Thursday morning.