More than 60 Senate and House Democrats are pressing President Joe Biden to leverage “the full power of the executive branch” to combat gun violence in a new letter calling for a number of immediate actions to make the process of purchasing firearms safer and hold firearms dealers accountable.
The letter, signed by a wide coalition of congressional Democrats, has the backing of Senate leadership, including Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic whip Dick Durbin. The letter outlines steps the Biden administration could take without congressional approval – underscoring that there is no expectation Congress will pass gun-related legislation anytime soon amid deep partisan divides over the issue.
With more than 400 mass shootings already this year, 2023 is set to be one of the deadliest year for mass shootings in American history.
“With Republicans in Congress refusing to act, the American people are relying on your Administration to ensure that they can move through their daily lives without fear of firearms on the streets, in public establishments, and in their homes,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter sent to Biden Monday.
The lawmakers, led by Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, along with Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Reps. Diana DeGette of Colorado and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia and others, want to see Biden leverage the federal government’s status as a major purchaser of firearms to develop public safety practices for vendors in order to be awarded government contracts.
The proposals put forward would incentivize gun manufacturers to decline to sell military-grade weapons to civilians and only sell to responsible dealers who refuse to proceed with a sale without a completed background check. Some of the most urgent actions proposed by the lawmakers include implementing a code of conduct for manufacturers for procuring…
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