By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Enhanced background checks have blocked hundreds of gun gross sales to folks beneath the age of 21 and people convicted of misdemeanor home violence crimes prior to now yr, the White Home stated on Sunday, a yr after President Joe Biden arrange a brand new workplace to speed up work on stopping gun violence.
Homicides have dropped 17% within the interval, constructing on the largest-ever drop in homicides in 2023, the White Home stated. It stated knowledge from the Gun Violence Archive confirmed that mass shootings had been additionally down 20% thus far in 2024 in comparison with a yr earlier and would attain their lowest stage this yr since 2019.
The FBI has carried out greater than 300,000 enhanced background checks of people beneath 21 required beneath Biden’s Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, signed into regulation in June 2022. It denied greater than 3,500 of these transactions, with the improved background checks alone liable for almost 900 blocked gross sales, the White Home stated. Background checks for these convicted of home violence crimes have blocked greater than 4,600 gross sales to date this yr.
Stefanie Feldman, who heads the brand new workplace, stated the progress mirrored a variety of efforts, together with dozens of govt actions since Biden took workplace, elevated collaboration amongst federal companies, nearer work with state and native governments, and elevated funding for enforcement of present legal guidelines and psychological well being applications.
She instructed Reuters that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee within the Nov. 5 presidential election, would announce extra govt motion quickly.
Feldman declined to offer any particulars, however stated the motion concerned some “wholly new ideas” and would take exhausting work to finish earlier than Biden leaves workplace in January.
Gun security has been an enormous focus for Biden and Harris – each of whom are gun house owners – since they took workplace in 2021.
The U.S. surgeon basic declared gun violence a public well being disaster in June, calling for extra analysis funding, higher psychological well being entry and different steps comparable to safe storage.
Democrats largely favor stricter gun legal guidelines as a approach to cut back deaths from gun violence, whereas Republicans usually oppose stricter legal guidelines, citing the correct to bear arms established within the U.S. Structure’s Second Modification.
Regardless of partisan divisions, Feldman stated her workplace had labored properly with Republican state and native elected officers, and 17 states had handed laws to handle gun violence.
The workplace was additionally working with non-elected officers, together with healthcare suppliers and executives, regulation enforcement and group leaders, a few of whom may determine as Republican however shared a dedication to cut back gun violence.
“The further away you get from Washington, the less political this issue actually is,” she stated. “Everyone wants their kid to come home from school safely. Everyone wants their kid to be able to go play in the neighborhood and be safe.”
