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US President Joe Biden issued an executive order in another effort to curb gun violence in the country, as shootings remain a rampant issue. The executive order would expand background checks for purchases of firearms.
Biden issued an executive order this week that expands the use of background checks on those who wish to purchase firearms. The US leader reiterated his commitment to further regulate firearms ahead of his visit to Monterey Park, California, where a gunman killed 11 people back in January.
The executive order will expand using background checks and increase public awareness of “red flag laws” that aim to prevent those who are known to display troubling behavior that is reported to law enforcement by family or friends.
“We remember and mourn today, but I’m here with you today to act,” said Biden during his announcement. “This executive order helps keeps firearms out of dangerous hands as I continue to call on Congress to require background checks for all firearms sales.”
The order will also direct the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the ways gun manufacturers market their firearms to minors and civilians, including the use of military imagery. The order also builds on the previous gun control legislation Biden signed into law in June last year that included similar measures as well as a provision that those convicted of domestic violence would be barred from purchasing firearms if they are still involved with the victim.
Despite the law being deemed “the most significant gun violence reduction legislation enacted in nearly 30 years,” some have pointed out that the law had little effect in reducing firearms in the country. The law also did not include restrictions on assault-style firearms that have been used in many mass shootings, a provision Biden has long called to be included.
On the same day, the Biden administration said it has revoked a land swap deal brokered by Trump administration interior secretary David Bernhardt that would have allowed a new road to cut through a wildlife refuge in Alaska. In a statement by the agency, interior secretary Deb Haaland withdrew the 2019 land swap deal between the department and the Alaska King Cove Corporation but expressed a willingness to hear other proposals to replace the deal.
