Gun violence organization reacts to Biden’s new executive order

The Brady United Against Gun Violence campaign has applauded President Joe Biden’s new executive order aimed at reducing gun violence in the United States. The order, which was signed during a ceremony at a mass shooting site in California earlier this year, seeks to increase the total number of national background checks, promote proper gun safety and storage among owners and help local law enforcement agencies make use of resources included in the bipartisan gun control law signed by the president in 2022.

“Addressing gun violence will take more than one solution, and these executive orders will go a long way in preventing tragedies that kill over 40,000 people in America each year,” said Brady President Kris Brown in a statement. “The majorities of Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and gun owners alike support expanding Brady Background Checks for gun purchases. While ultimately we can only achieve Universal Background Checks through legislation, Biden’s actions today have the potential to get us closer to that reality.”

While the organization praised the Biden administration’s moves, it also emphasized the need for proper implementation, especially by the Justice Department and the Department of Defense. The order also directs the president’s Cabinet to stand up a process to support communities reeling from mass shootings, and improve the sharing of ballistics data between federal, state, and local law enforcement data.

The US Concealed Carry Association, on the other hand, opposed the executive order, with its President Tim Schmidt claiming that it took guns away from “law abiding Americans.” However, Heyne of Brady asserted that he believed the majority of U.S. citizens on both sides of the aisle would agree with “common sense laws” like a universal background check.

Currently, one in five gun sales are done without conducting proper background checks or through the right licensing, and the new order seeks to address this issue by ensuring more background checks are conducted.