- U.S. President Joe Biden has announced a string of new policies designed to curb gun violence in the States — a problem he has called an “epidemic”
- The new laws will see a crackdown on self-assembled firearms known as “ghost guns” and rule changes around arm braces used to stabilise pistols
- On top of this, the Biden administration will create model “red flag” laws to be adopted by state legislatures and patch up loopholes around background checks
- President Biden called gun violence in the U.S. an “international embarrassment” as he outlined the laws he will introduce via executive order
- He admitted, however, that there is a “long way to go” before he can implement promises he made during his campaign trail
- These promises included bans on assault rifles and potential gun buybacks
U.S. President Joe Biden has announced a string of new policies designed to curb gun violence in the States — a problem he has called an “epidemic”.
The new laws range from model red flag laws for state legislatures to adopt, a crackdown on self-assembled firearms known as “ghost guns”, and stricter rules for pistol arm braces, which increase the stability and accuracy of pistols.
According to the Biden administration, 316 people are shot and 106 people die from gun violence in the U.S. every day.
“Gun violence in this country is an epidemic, and it’s an international embarrassment,” President Biden said.
“Today, we’re taking steps to confront not just the gun crisis, but what is actually a public health crisis.”
He said the new laws are immediate, concrete actions highlighted by Attorney General Merrick Garland that the Biden administration can implement without having to go through Congress.
Ghost guns and arm braces
The first step the Biden administration outlined to fight gun violence in the U.S. is to rein in the proliferation of ghost guns.
These are weapons assembled at home from kits sold by manufacturers or, in some cases, from 3D printers. The issue with ghost guns is that because they are not sold directly as a firearm, they have no serial numbers — making them impossible to trace if they show up at a crime scene.
The Biden administration will designate gun assembly kits as firearms under the Gun Control Act, requiring sellers are manufacturers to inscribe serial numbers on key parts of the weapon and run background checks on buyers seeking an at-home assembly kit.
President Biden will also change gun rules to classify pistols with stabilising arm braces as short-barrelled rifles. The laws will also ensure pistol braces are covered by regulations in the National Firearms Act and need to be registered.
The president said pistol braces make a pistol a “hell of a lot more accurate and a mini-rifle”. The alleged shooter in the March Boulder supermarket shooting appears to have used a pistol with an arm brace.
Further to this, the Biden administration will create model “red flag” laws, which some states already use to limit guns sales to high-risk customers. The idea behind the model laws is to give a framework for states to enact their own set of rules until red flag laws are standard across the nation.
“We know red flag laws can stop mass shooters before they can act out their violent plans,” President Biden said.
“Just like with background checks, the vast majority of Americans support these extreme risk protection order laws, and it’s time to put these laws on the books and protect even more people.”
Other Biden executive orders include tightening some loopholes on background checks when buying guns and higher investment into community violence intervention programs.
A “long way” to go
The new laws are a far cry away from what President Biden promised during his campaign trail — promises that included assault rifle bans and gun buybacks — but these types of changes cannot be made by executive order.
As such, President Biden admitted there is still a “long way” to go to properly address gun violence in the States.
“It always seems like we have a long way to go,” he said.
He also insisted the new laws don’t impinge on the U.S. Constitution in any way. He said no amendment to the Constitution is absolute.
“From the very beginning that the Second Amendment existed, certain people weren’t allowed to have weapons,” President Biden said.
“So the idea is just bizarre to suggest that some of the things we’re recommending are contrary to the Constitution.”