The White House sidestepped a question Monday about rising crime statistics, attributing the data to the number of guns in citizens’ hands.
“Well, I would say, certainly, there is a guns problem,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. “And that’s one of the reasons that we have proposed and now are implementing funding for community violence prevention programs across the country.”
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At least 12 mass shootings were reported between last Friday and Sunday, killing 11 people and injuring another 69, according to data compiled by CNN and the Gun Violence Archive. The mass shootings, defined as resulting in more than four fatalities excluding the shooter, were reported in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. The deaths contribute to the more than 7,500-person toll from gun-related injuries this year, an almost 25% increase compared to 2020 during the same time period.
The figures support Biden’s campaign for expanded background check legislation, Psaki said, though she wanted to speak with experts before commenting on any correlations between the COVID-19 pandemic and the numbers.
Biden is imploring the Senate to consider at least two House-passed bills that would impose stricter requirements on people hoping to buy a gun, Psaki added. But when asked whether Biden had spoken to Republican negotiators working on compromise proposals, such as Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, she referred reporters to Senate leadership.
“Putting in place commonsense gun safety measures is something that has been a priority for him throughout his career,” she said of Biden. “He helped pass the Brady Bill. He got background checks in place. He helped get the assault weapons ban passed, and he will continue to encourage and push that with members while he is president. Top of his agenda.”
Pressure on Biden to enact anti-gun executive actions mounted after the Atlanta-area spa and Boulder, Colorado, King Soopers supermarket shootings in March. He directed the Justice Department in April to draft rules targeting “the proliferation of ‘ghost guns'” and to “make clear” that a stabilizing brace turns a pistol into a short-barreled rifle under the National Firearms Act. He has also asked the Justice Department to write model “red flag” legislation for states and nominated David Chipman to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. Critics deemed the actions to be tepid.
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Background check legislation faces Democratic as well as Republican opposition in the Senate. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin is seeking exemptions that cover private sales between people who know each other.
