President Joe Biden will have “more to say” on gun control on Thursday, the White House said, just weeks after several deadly mass shootings brought pressure from his left to crack down on firearms getting into the hands of would-be shooters.
Biden pledged to take action on guns upon taking office, but advocates have grown frustrated by the White House’s pace. In a recent interview, Vice President Kamala Harris said Congress should act first and that while Biden wasn’t ruling out executive action, his goal was for a “lasting” solution to the issue.
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White House officials have said repeatedly that they are eager to prioritize legislative action, but pressure on Biden to act has grown amid several high-profile shootings.
Now nearly three months in, the West Wing has signaled that it may be ready to yield.
BIDEN STIMULUS CHECKS SPARK HISTORIC SURGE IN GUN SALES, ESPECIALLY AR-15S
On Thursday, Biden is expected to call on his administration to require buyers of so-called ghost guns, or homemade firearms without serial numbers, to face background checks. Biden will be joined by Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Other actions are not yet known, but in a letter last week, House Democrats asked Biden to act on “concealable assault-style” firearms similar to the weapon used in a recent shooting in Colorado.
Asked about this Wednesday, press secretary Jen Psaki demurred on the specifics of the West Wing’s potential actions.
“I can convey that I expect the president will have more to say tomorrow,” Psaki said Wednesday. “I’m just not going to preview more from here.”
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In the wake of the Boulder shooting, Psaki said measures designed to curb gun violence were still on the table.
“Yes,” Psaki said when asked about the possibility of executive action. “I can’t give you an exact time frame, in part, because they have to go through a review process, which is something that we do from here.”
Firearms have seen historic sales in recent months, according to federal data.
