A series of executive actions, including one addressing “ghost guns,” is being crafted that lawmakers hope cannot be easily taken apart by courts, to limit gun violence nationwide.
A series of executive actions, including one addressing “ghost guns,” is being crafted that lawmakers hope cannot be easily taken apart by courts, to limit gun violence nationwide, Reuters reports.
Ghost guns are guns made from parts purchased online or at gun shows and are self-assembled. They can legally be sold without serial numbers to background checks, are untraceable, and are not classified as firearms under current laws.
According to the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, of all the illegal weapons confiscated in areas of California, more than 30 percent are ghost guns.
Early in the Biden Administration, a series of meeting were held by White House top aides Cedric Richmond and Susan Rice, asking safety activists and community leaders for views on gun violence policy and what next steps should be taken.
Topics touched upon in that meeting included wanting the Department of Justice to bring more cases against firearms dealers and manufacturers, limiting exemptions for private sales from background check rules, and alerting local law enforcement when someone fails a federal background check, according to Reuters.
When asked about the possibility of presidential executive orders, Amy Hunter, a spokeswoman for the pro-gun National Rifle Association stated “We stand ready and all options are on the table.”
Nick Suplina, managing director for law and policy at Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund Inc, told Reuters that the gun lobby is “a litigious group and will potentially take action in court - but their track record with litigation is remarkably poor. We’re optimistic that we will see action from the White House in the near future.”
They are talking about the levers that they have to address gun violence. That’s reflected in some of the meetings they had,” said Christian Heyne, vice president of policy at the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
Pressure has built for quick action in the wake of the Atlanta spa and Boulder supermarket shootings, both of which were carried out with what police say are legally obtained guns. According to Lawyers and activists that spoke with Reuters, the DOJ needs to create a paper trail to show that any rule change was not abrupt or political, that it has a strong foundation in law, and that officials followed a reasoned and orderly process before making the change.
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