President Biden announced 13 new measures to reduce gun violence to mark the one-year anniversary of the Buffalo mass shooting.
The President wrote in an editorial for USA Today, “I have taken more significant executive branch action to reduce gun violence than any other President, and I will continue to take all legal and effective action.” But my power is not absolute. Congress must act by, among other things, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, requiring gun owners to keep their firearms safe, requiring background checks on all gun sales, and removing gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability. We also need more governors and state legislators to take these steps.”
The White House announced 13 steps the Biden administration will take to maximize the effectiveness of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA):
Keep weapons away from dangerous hands
– The White House, in cooperation with the DOJ, will convene state and local law enforcement agencies to request their cooperation on BSCA implementation priorities such as: 1) Increasing state and local law enforcement agency response rates to enhanced background check requests when someone under 21- year old tries to buy a gun; and 2) Ensuring that records of arrests and convictions include additional documentation of dating relationships to prevent more guns from getting into the hands of domestic abusers.
– The White House, in cooperation with the DOJ, will convene state legislators and governors and urge them to enact legislation that would allow the state background check system to access any records that might ban anyone under the age of 21 from purchasing a firearm.
– The DOJ is working with state and territory governments and local law enforcement agencies to increase their response rates to requests from the federal background check system when someone under the age of 21 attempts to purchase a gun. The DOJ has held 18 webinars to date, attended by more than 500 law enforcement agencies, and nine more are planned.
– The DOJ is training federal law enforcement agencies and educating state and local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors on the need for additional documentation of dating relationships in domestic violence cases to implement the BSCA provision, which narrows the “boyfriend gap” and helps eliminate guns keep out of domestic violence hands of domestic abusers.
Securing BSCA mental health funding helps those dealing with the grief and trauma resulting from gun violence
– HHS and ED ministers will urge governors to use BSCA and Medicaid funds to help schools cope with gun violence-related trauma and mental health issues.
– HHS will educate health and social care providers, community leaders and other individuals about the impact that gun violence trauma can have on communities.
– HHS will clarify how early childhood providers can use BSCA funding to address mental health and gun violence trauma.
– HHS will highlight stories of how communities are effectively using BSCA’s mental health resources to help those affected by gun violence to encourage other communities to adopt these strategies and use BSCA’s resources effectively.
HHS will meet with trauma program grantees and select community members and providers to collect community-level data on the association between gun violence exposure and trauma. Lessons learned will inform future HHS program development and a report will be made available to HHS for other communities.
As part of the School-Based Services Technical Assistance Center established under the BSCA, HHS and ED will work together to develop resources for states and schools to learn how schools can use Medicaid to fund school-based health services to help students cope with physical and emotional Problems to help Effects of gun violence.
make schools safer
– The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will launch a special public campaign to increase awareness of SchoolSafety.gov and its available resources and evidence-based practices. The campaign is aimed at K-12 leaders, school administrators, teachers, school staff, and parents and guardians.
– ED has taken several steps to help states and school districts effectively leverage the BSCA’s $1 billion Stronger Connections Grant program to improve school safety. For example, ED hosted a four-part webinar series that highlighted evidence-based practices to promote student safety and well-being and published detailed FAQs to help states and school districts understand how to use these resources effectively, to ensure all schools are safe and welcoming to all students.
Expanding community violence interventions
– To help communities maximize the benefit of BSCA funding for community violence interventions, the DOJ hosted a five-part webinar series to assist local leaders in adopting evidence-based violence reduction strategies.
The president can’t make new laws, but his administration can implement them as effectively as possible, so hopefully they will help reduce gun violence. President Biden was right. He needs Congress to do more, but the difference between a Democratic and Republican government is that Democrats are willing to acknowledge and deal with the problem.
Republicans act as if mass shootings are an uncontrollable force majeure that can’t be helped.
Biden is proving otherwise, and if Republicans in Congress got involved, much more could be done to save lives.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also White House press secretary and congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a bachelor’s degree in political science. The focus of his thesis was on public policy with a focus on social reform movements.
Awards and professional memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association
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