President Joe Biden<\/u><\/a> took executive action Tuesday that seeks to increase the number of background checks conducted during gun sales as the White House\u2002reverts to unilateral<\/u><\/a> ways to tackle gun control amid bleak prospects in Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The order stops short of requiring universal background checks, which the president has asked Congress to pass<\/u><\/a> through legislation. His action instead directs Attorney General Merrick Garland to clarify what it means to be “engaged in the business” of selling firearms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Federal law requires that individuals in the business of selling guns be federally licensed and therefore check the backgrounds of buyers. Under the order, Garland will use his discretion to ensure gun sellers “willfully violating the law” and those unaware of background requirements become compliant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We remember and mourn today, but I’m here with you today to act,” Biden said at a Boys & Girls Club in Monterey Park, California, where he grieved with family members of 11 people killed in a mass shooting there in January. “It’s just common sense to check whether someone is a felon, a domestic abuser before they buy a gun.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Biden faces increasing pressure to address gun violence following a series of mass shootings this year, but his proposals to reinstate a ban on assault weapons and require universal background checks lack the votes in the Republican-controlled House. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The shooting in Monterey Park, a cultural hub of the Asian-American community, took place in a dance studio after a Lunar New Year celebration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I’m here on behalf of the American people to mourn with you, to pray with you, to let you know that you’re loved and not alone,” Biden said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Biden read off the names and stories of Monterey Park victims and recognized Brandon Tsay, a 26-year-old dance studio employee who disarmed the gunman. Tsay was a guest at Biden’s State of the Union address last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As part of his order, Biden directed members of his administration to develop a proposal to improve federal government support for communities affected by gun violence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “More must be done,” said former Arizona U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords<\/strong>, “but there\u2019s no telling how many lives will be saved thanks to the meaningful actions announced today.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Second Amendment advocates blasted the order. <\/strong>Katie Pointer Baney, managing director of government affairs for the U.S. Concealed Carry Association, said none of the directives would have stopped recent mass shootings. “Our elected leaders should be supporting those law-abiding Americans instead of finding more ways to hinder their right to defend themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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