President Joe Biden on Sunday known as on Congress to enact “common-sense gun law reforms” on the three-year anniversary of the mass faculty taking pictures in Parkland, Florida, saying “this administration will not wait for the next mass shooting to heed that call.”
“We will take action to end our epidemic of gun violence and make our schools and communities safer,” he mentioned in a press release. “We owe it to all those we’ve lost and to all those left behind to grieve to make a change. The time to act is now.”
Biden’s pledged adjustments, which mirror ones he made on the marketing campaign path, embody requiring background checks on all gun gross sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and overturning authorized protections for gun producers when their weapons are utilized in against the law.
The White House final week started reaching out to gun management advocates, together with the households of Parkland victims, whereas growing coverage suggestions. Several who participated within the discussions mentioned their communications left them feeling assured that change is lastly on the horizon.
“Gun safety was a cornerstone of President Biden’s campaign, and this meeting confirmed that gun safety is a top priority for the Biden administration as well,” mentioned Shannon Watts, founding father of the anti-gun violence group Moms Demand Action.
Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter was one in every of 17 killed within the 2018 taking pictures at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, mentioned their discussions left him assured that gun coverage adjustments received’t get placed on the again burner due to the continued coronavirus pandemic, which proof suggests has made gun violence worse.
“The only way this gets lost is if gun violence stops, and it is not going to stop,” he informed Florida’s Sun Sentinel. “If anything, because of the pandemic, it is going to get worse. Sadly I am not worried about it getting lost, because the issue isn’t going away.”
The FBI final month mentioned it carried out its highest variety of firearm background checks on document. This adopted December 2020, which beforehand held the document.
Gun violence deaths have been additionally up final 12 months, based on the nonprofit analysis group Gun Violence Archive, with 2020 seeing almost 4,000 extra fatalities than the 12 months prior.
“With Covid making gun violence worse and armed extremists literally holding our democracy at gunpoint, the time for action is now –– and we fully expect to see it soon,” John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, mentioned in a press release following his assembly with White House officers.
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