But it does not live up to the radical actions Biden has promised as a candidate to be approved by Congress, including a ban on assault weapons or the adoption of universal background checks. Senior administration officials framed future announcements as initial steps that would be followed by further action, including putting pressure on parliamentarians to act.
Biden said last month, following a mass shooting in Colorado, “I don’t have to wait another minute, let alone an hour, for common sense measures to save lives in the future.” But he acknowledged that adopting a new massive infrastructure plan – not new weapons laws – is his top legislative priority.
Biden will make the announcements at the White House on Thursday with his attorney general, Merrick Garland, whose Justice Department will be responsible for drafting the proposed rules.
Ghost guns are hand-made or self-assembled firearms that do not have serial numbers. Some can be made in just 30 minutes using kits and parts purchased online. Biden will order the Justice Department to issue a proposed rule to “stop the proliferation” of these weapons, although a senior administration official who is stepping down has declined to explain how the rule could work specifically.
Another proposed rule would be for stabilizing braces for pistols, which help with the accuracy of weapons and manage recoil. Under the new rule, the devices – which the senior administration official claimed turned gunpowder into short-barreled rifles – would be covered by regulations in the National Firearms Act, including the need for registration. Last month’s mass fighter in Boulder, Colorado, used a modified pistol with straps, according to a law enforcement source.
The announcements will come as the president is expected to appoint David Chipman as the next director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, a White House official told CNN. Chipman is a former ATF agent who serves as a senior political adviser to Giffords, the organization led by former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who became a gun control advocate after he was shot in 2011.
ATF has been without a permanent director since 2015.
Biden also intends to announce new investments in intervention programs in communities prone to violence; a directive to the Department of Justice on the publication of model “red flag” laws for states that allow the temporary removal of weapons from persons considered at high risk of harming themselves or others; and a comprehensive report on firearms trafficking.
Taken together, the actions amount to the first real steps of the Biden administration to combat gun violence. Inside the White House, efforts to develop executive action were led by Susan Rice, White House Director of Internal Policy Susan Rice, and Public Engagement Bureau Director Cedric Richmond, administration officials and gun safety groups told CNN. .
This included meeting with some of those groups and launching ideas for steps that Biden could take on his own. Some lawyers had called for steps in the administration earlier, pointing to Biden’s commitment to prioritizing gun control during his campaign.
But the initial reaction of arms security groups on Wednesday night was positive.
“Each of these executive actions will begin to address the epidemic of gun violence that has lasted throughout the pandemic and will begin to fulfill President Biden’s promise to be the most powerful arms security president in history,” said John Feinblatt. , President of Everytown for Gun. Safety, he said in a statement.
“These much-needed executive actions will start saving lives immediately, and our grassroots army of nearly 6 million supporters is looking forward to standing behind President Biden as he urges the Senate to follow suit and act, ”Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, said in a statement.
During the campaign, Biden said he would task his attorney general with introducing better enforcement of existing gun laws as a means of stopping gun violence. He also made a campaign commitment to send $ 900 million for community programs to combat violence, which the administration is working on how to accomplish.
Biden acknowledged at a press conference that his main legislative priority was the adoption of an infrastructure package and that he believed that a timely timetable was the key to the success of any proposed bills.
And he acknowledged that his political capital is limited.
“I haven’t done any counting yet,” he said in March when asked if he thought he had enough votes to pass significant reforms.
As the nation’s position on weapons has evolved, Biden has been at the forefront and center at most at every stop along the road for more than three decades, from the triumph of the 10-year ban on assault weapons in 1994 to the disappointment of a failure presses for universal background checks following the Sandy Hook massacre.
Recent shootings in Georgia and Colorado had raised the question inside the West Wing about how much Biden should spend on this issue, which ended so often with frustration.
This story has been updated with details about Biden’s executive actions and reaction to them.
Kaitlan Collins contributed to this story.