House Democrats on Friday urged President Biden to appoint a “national gun violence” director as the administration hinted at possible firearms regulations earlier in February.
Democratic Reps. Joe Neguse of Colorado and Lucy McBath of Georgia sent a letter, which was signed by 34 other lawmakers, to request the placement of a “National Director of Gun Violence Prevention,” adding that the official would “create and chair an Interagency Task Force on Gun Violence Prevention.” The coalition of legislators cited a “persistent and growing gun violence” problem in the United States as the reason for the move.
“Every year, nearly 40,000 people are killed with guns in our nation and another 76,000 are injured, with disproportionate shares of this violence falling on communities of color,” the letter read. “In 2020 alone, as the COVID-19 pandemic raged, at least 43,561 people needlessly lost their lives due to gun violence, a 10% increase from 2019. As gun ownership soars to record levels, we fear that this violence will only continue to grow.”
It continued: “Currently, federal efforts to combat gun violence, including research on the impacts and causes of gun violence and law enforcement efforts to combat it, are siloed across agencies. Appointing a National Director of Gun Violence to promote coordination of federal agencies will ensure these agencies are working collaboratively, including via the dissemination of critical data and coordination of shared goals, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco, Department of Justice, Health and Human Services, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
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The goal of the director would be to reduce “firearms deaths and injuries by at least 50% over the next ten years.”
On Feb. 14, the anniversary of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 dead and more injured, Biden said his administration would “not wait” to implement a slew of firearms laws.
“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,” Biden said in a statement. “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. 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.”
Neguse echoed Biden’s sentiment for mass shooting prevention.
“If we are not doing everything we can to ensure another Columbine, another Aurora, another Highlands Ranch does not happen again, then we are not doing enough,” she said.
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Biden campaigned on the promise to prohibit “assault weapons” and “high-capacity magazines.” Biden also vowed to end liability protections that prevent gun companies from certain lawsuits and indicated that he planned to institute more comprehensive red flag laws, which allow local law enforcement to seize firearms from those deemed a danger to themselves or others, a policy that has drawn scrutiny from due process advocates.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.
