WASHINGTON — Today, President Biden will announce new actions to respond to the increase in gun violence and to tackle gun violence and advance safety. The following actions are included:
- The Justice Department, within 30 days, will issue a proposed rule to help stop the proliferation of “ghost guns.”
- The Justice Department, within 60 days, will publish model “red flag” legislation to allow family members or law enforcement to petition for a court order temporarily barring people in crisis from accessing firearms if they present a danger to themselves or others. This is important when someone is experiencing a mental health crisis.
- The Justice Department, within 60 days, will issue a proposed rule to make clear that devices marketed as a stabilizing brace are subject to the National Firearms Act to make clear that devices marketed as a stabilizing brace effectively turns a pistol into a short-barreled shotgun or rifle – making them subject to the requirements of the National Firearms Act.
- The Justice Department will issue an annual report on firearms trafficking. The Justice Department will issue a new, comprehensive report on firearms trafficking – which hasn’t been done since 2000 – and annual updates necessary to give policymakers the information they need to help address firearms trafficking today.
- The Administration is investing in substantive evidence-based community violence interventions – proven strategies for reducing gun violence in urban communities. Because cities across the country are experiencing a historic spike in homicides, the Biden-Harris Administration is directing five federal agencies to modify 26 programs that will route vital support to community violence intervention programs as quickly as possible. This also adds to the proposed $5 billion investment in the American Jobs Plan that will support community violence intervention programs.
- President Biden will nominate David Chipman to serve as Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF). ATF is the key agency enforcing our gun laws, and it needs a permanent director in order to do the job to the best of its ability – but it has not had a confirmed director since 2015. Chipman served at ATF for 25 years, has helped investigate high profile bombings, has worked to advance commonsense gun safety laws, and is a gun owner himself.
These measures will address criminals buying kits containing components for finishing a firearm within as little as 30 minutes and using these firearms to commit crimes. These firearms are often untraceable, making it difficult to tackle the gun violence epidemic.
“Gun violence has been an ongoing epidemic in our country for many years and the recent mass shootings continue to be heartbreaking — and utterly senseless,” Rep. Dean said. “I am happy to work with an administration that is finally taking this public health crisis seriously as we work to curb this epidemic.”
Additionally, the Administration is investing in evidence-based community violence interventions to reduce gun violence in urban communities through tools other than incarceration. The Justice Department will also issue a new, comprehensive report on firearms trafficking and annual updates necessary to give policymakers the information they need to help address firearms trafficking today.
Rep. Dean has been a leader on gun violence prevention issues in the House since being sworn in in 2019. She has introduced the Undetectable Firearms Modernization Act -- which would prohibit the possession of any firearm that is undetectable by airport-level detection devices. The bill requires any firearm with all of its major components attached to generate a gun-shaped image in the detection systems. Additionally, Rep. Dean has led appropriations requests in FY21 and again for FY22 for increased funding to the ATF for gun violence prevention activities.
Rep. Madeleine Dean is a mother, grandmother, attorney, professor, former four-term member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and U.S. Representative for the Fourth District of Pennsylvania
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