Courtney Balcombe

News Editor

clb6264@psu.edu

President Joe Biden called onto Congress on February 14th to establish “commonsense gun law reforms,” this would include widespread firearm sales background checks and a ban on assault weapons.

“Today, I am calling on Congress to enact commonsense gun law reforms, including requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers who knowingly put weapons of war on our streets,” Biden said. “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.”

The announcement came on the third anniversary of when a gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which left 17 dead, the tragedy led many of the survivors to confront lawmakers about gun safety and speak out against gun violence.

During Biden’s statement, he spoke about the personal toll the Parkland tragedy has had on the families of its victims, saying that “like far too many families — and, indeed, like our nation — they’ve been left to wonder whether things would ever be okay. 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.”

According to CNN Politics, some Democrats in Washington are “more confident” that for the first time in more than two decades gun safety reforms are within reach. But passing any gun legislation remains a longshot as Democrats need to get at least 10 Republicans on board with any proposal, since they hold a very slim majority in the Senate.

“Now, working with the Democratic Senate and Biden-Harris Administration, we will enact these and other life-saving bills and deliver the progress that the Parkland community and the American people deserve and demand,” Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, said.

According to joebiden.com, President Biden has worked to fight for gun safety since 1993 when he led Congress through the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, which established the background check system. Then in 1994, Biden – along with Senator Dianne Feinstein – secured the passage of 10-year bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

While Biden was still a Senator in 2005, he voted against the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, but gun manufacturers successfully lobbied Congress to secure its passage. This law protects these manufacturers from being held civilly liable for their products – protection granted to no other industry. Biden will prioritize repealing this protection.

After the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, President Obama tasked Vice President Biden with developing both legislative proposals and executive actions to make our communities safer. As a result of this effort, the Obama-Biden Administration took more than two dozen actions, including narrowing the so-called “gun show loophole,” increasing the number of records in the background check system and expanding funding for mental health services.

As President, Biden plans to continue to fight manufactures and sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, regulate the possession of existing assault weapons under the National Firearms Act, buy back the assault weapons and high-capacity magazines already in our communities, and reduce the stockpiling of weapons.

Biden will enact universal background check legislation and close other loopholes that allow people who should be prohibited from purchasing firearms from making those purchases. This will include required background checks for all purchases. Today an estimated 1 in 5 firearms are sold or transferred without a background check.

President Biden will also reinstate the Obama-Biden policy to keep guns out of the hands of certain people unable to manage their affairs for mental reasons, which President Trump reversed.

The plan includes closing the “hate crime loophole.” Biden will enact legislation prohibiting an individual “who has been convicted of a misdemeanor hate crime or received an enhanced sentence for a misdemeanor because of hate or bias in its commission” from purchasing or possessing a firearm.

This includes the “Charleston loophole.” The Charleston loophole allows people to complete the purchase of a firearm if their background check is not completed within three business days. Biden supports the proposal in the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2019, which extends the timeline from three to 10 business days. 

Biden plans to direct the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to put on his desk within his first 100 days as president a report detailing the cases in which background checks are not completed within 10 business days and steps the federal government can take to reduce or eliminate this occurrence.

Along with closing the “fugitive from justice” loophole created by the Trump Administration. Because of actions by the Trump Administration, records of almost 500,000 fugitives from justice who are prohibited from purchasing firearms were deleted from the background check system. 

The Biden Administration will restore these records, and enact legislation to make clear that people facing arrest warrants are prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms.