People attend a candlelight vigil for victims of a deadly mass shooting on Jan. 24 in Monterey Park, Calif. President Biden will announce his latest gun safety push there on Tuesday.
Mario Tama / Getty Images
President Biden will sign a new executive order on Tuesday during a visit to Monterey Park, Calif., that the White House says could boost the number of background checks that are supposed to take place before a gun is purchased.
The order calls on the attorney general and other administration officials to come up with a plan to deal with firearm sellers who are avoiding doing the background checks, or who do not realize they are required to do them.
Biden's visit to Monterey Park comes after a mass shooting in January killed 11 and injured nine during Lunar New Year celebrations. Two days later, another shooting in Half Moon Bay, Calif. killed seven. By some counts, there have been more than 100 mass shootings in 2023 so far.
The White House says Biden will continue to call on Congress to pass legislation to close loopholes in the background check system, though that is unlikely to happen given that Republicans control the House of Representatives.
"In the meantime, he wants the federal government to be doing all we can with existing authority to reduce gun violence and that's what this executive order does," a senior administration official told reporters.
The White House said the attorney general will determine the specifics of the plan, so there are no details yet on how the administration will increase background checks or what the timeline for the plan is. The attorney general is also tasked with coming up with a strategy to prevent federally licensed firearms dealers whose licenses have been revoked or surrendered from continuing to sell firearms.
Biden will also call on members of his cabinet to work with law enforcement, health care providers and educators to help promote other ways to prevent shootings, including passing red flag laws and encouraging the safe storage of weapons. He also wants to find ways to provide government support for communities that have been impacted by mass shootings, the way the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) supports communities after natural disasters.
Gun control advocates applaud Biden's actions
Gun control advocates are applauding the president for taking action, even without support from Congress.
"We're at a time when this crisis requires bipartisan ideas and solutions," said Greg Jackson, executive director of the Community Justice Action Fund. "This crisis is so large at this point that we need all of government, we need all of our elected officials and leaders ... to lean in with solutions the same way we did with COVID-19, the same way we've done with the opioid crisis, and other health crises in our country."
Jackson said he's particularly excited about Biden's proposal for federal support for communities in the aftermath of mass shootings. He said that could have helped last year after the shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y. that killed 10 people: after the shooting, the predominantly Black community lost access to its lone grocery store for weeks.
Biden's actions could help counter Republican arguments on crime ahead of 2024
Republicans have been arguing that Democrats aren't tough enough on crime ahead of the 2024 presidential race.
Peter Ambler, the executive director of gun safety group Giffords, said he thinks Democrats need to show how crime is tied to firearms.
"The concerns that Americans have about violent crime is the result of increasing sales, increasing gun violence," Ambler said. "Gun violence prevention is a critical component of public safety."
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.