Amid growing concern about gun violence and unobtainable “ghost guns” that can be 3D-printed at home, President Joe Biden was due to introduce new gun policy measures on Monday.
Biden’s announcement will most likely draw on executive orders on gun control, phantom guns and other facets of gun regulation as part of an approach to stem the pandemic tide gun-related attacks, said two people with knowledge of his remarks.
As part of Monday’s policy rollout, Biden was set to appoint a long-awaited new replacement candidate to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
In September, the White House withdrew its last nominee, 25-year ATF veteran David Chipman, following unanimous opposition from Republicans who say they want to protect the right to bear arms.
Chipman is a senior policy adviser at a nonprofit organization, Giffords, named after former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Arizona, who was shot in a 2011 assassination attempt. The organization aims to reduce armed violence and saving lives. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., alleged that Chipman was an enemy of the Second Amendment.
Gun violence advocates have been furious with the Biden administration for not pushing hard enough for Chipman, in their view, and for waiting so long to announce a replacement.
The political wrangling comes amid continued shootings in schools and workplaces and an increase in gun violence in many major cities.
Biden was also expected to announce new measures to make it harder to build and acquire so-called ghost guns.
Many major cities reported recovering increasing numbers of weapons. They lack serial numbers, which can allow law enforcement to track them and apply background checks. And they are basically available in plastic, which can bypass metal detectors.
The president’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2023 has provided clues to the policy’s expected rollout, and it could at least be part of his funding line.
Unveiled in March, it includes $1.7 billion for the ATF to expand multi-jurisdictional firearms trafficking strike forces with additional personnel and possibly increased regulation of the gun industry.
In 2020, the last year with complete data, more Americans died from gunshots than at any other time on record, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, the Pew Research Center says the gun-related death rate was not the highest on record because the figure is tied to population, and population has increased more than gun violence.
Some scholars have noted that the shooting phenomenon is roughly correlated with a massive increase in gun sales from the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the same time, the number of homicides was starting to drop in Los Angeles, which can be an indicator of crime, the data journalism publication Crosstown LA reported. Firearms were used in the majority of the homicides, he added.
The White House was scheduled to make its announcement at a 2:15 p.m. event at the Rose Garden, which is expected to feature remarks from Vice President Kamala Harris and Assistant Attorney General Lisa Monaco, according to Biden’s daily press schedule.
Gun control advocates, victims of gun violence and others concerned about the effects of guns on crime and death were expected, a person with knowledge of the event said.
The White House does not comment on the dossier before the planned announcement.
News of the policy’s rollout was reported earlier by CNN.
