Biden Will Nominate Gun Control Advocate To Lead ATF, Unveil Gun Control Executive Actions

Topline

President Joe Biden is expected to nominate a senior policy advisor at Gabrielle Giffords’ gun control group to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on Thursday, the White House said Wednesday, while also unveiling a series of executive actions on gun reform following a spate of mass shootings across the U.S. in recent weeks.

Key Facts

David Chipman, a senior policy advisor at Giffords and a former ATF special agent, will be nominated as the director of the ATF, which has not had a permanent director since 2015.

At the same time, Biden will sign an executive action requiring buyers of “ghost guns”—homemade firearms that don’t have serial numbers—to undergo background checks, Politico reported.

The Justice Department will propose a rule making pistols with stabilizing braces—the type of weapon believed to have been used in the Boulder supermarket shooting last month—subject to the National Firearms Act because the arm brace “effectively turns a pistol into a short-barreled rifle.”

The Justice Department will also “publish model ‘red flag’ legislation for states,” which are laws that allow family members or law enforcement to block high-risk people from buying firearms via a court order.

Biden will order the Justice Department to begin issuing an annual report on firearms trafficking, which the White House says is necessary because the agency hasn’t collected new data on the issue since 2000.

Crucial Quote

Calling gun violence a “public health epidemic,” the White House said the “recent high-profile mass shootings in Boulder—taking the lives of 10 individuals – and Atlanta —taking the lives of eight individuals, including six Asian American women—underscored the relentlessness of this epidemic.”

“The President is committed to taking action to reduce all forms of gun violence— community violence, mass shootings, domestic violence, and suicide by firearm,” the White House said.

Key Background

Biden’s actions on gun control come after activists and congressional Democrats have pressured the president in recent weeks following mass shootings in Atlanta, Colorado and Southern California. Biden promised to take action on gun control on his first day in office, and Thursday’s action will mark the president’s first major moves in that area since taking office.

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