JAKARTA - United States President Joe Biden hugged victims of a mass shooting on Tuesday, hours after he issued an executive order to tighten background checks on the sale of firearms, which the White House calls the most comprehensive policy the president could implement without Congress.
During his visit to the Asia-American enclave at Los Angeles-neighbor Monterey Park, President Biden empathized with the victims of the January 21 mass shooting that killed 11 people.
He also praised executive orders for tightening background checks for gun buyers, amplifying federal support for a state red flags that intend to stop arms sales to people deemed dangerous.
"I am here on behalf of the American people to mourn with you, pray with you, to let you know that you are loved and not alone," President Biden told attendees at Monterey Park.
After his speech, President Biden met privately with the families of the victims and the people who first responded to the incident, the White House said.
The shooting at a dance room in the Chinese New Year killed 11 people and injured nine people, leaving residents in the area frightened.
I signed into law the most significant gun safety reform in nearly three decades.But Congress must do more.Let’s pass universal background checks, eliminate immunity for gun manufacturers, and ban assault weapons. pic.twitter.com/S75djegenL
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 15, 2023
The essence of the latest executive order is to expand background checks of potential buyers, to prevent criminals or perpetrators of domestic violence from buying firearms, mostly by leaning on federally licensed firearms sellers, to comply with or educate others who may not realize that they are required to carry out background checks under existing law, the White House said.
With more than 40,000 deaths from firearms in the US per year, President Biden believes that voters in the 2024 presidential election will support more proactive firearms control.
Republicans seeking their party nominations to challenge Democratic President Biden by 2024 will certainly support broader gun ownership rights, backed by influential groups such as the National Rifle Association.
Meanwhile, President Biden's administration refers to polls that show that most Americans support background checks.
It is known that some advocates of the rights to possession of firearms opposed background checks, saying it violated constitutional rights to own firearms, but failed to stop criminals from getting them. They also argue that many laws are trampled on the rights of legal proceedings.
Gun ownership rights groups have underestimated President Biden's orders as a repeat of existing laws, as well as threatening personal freedom.
"The Biden administration should demand that prosecutors and lawmakers who are soft on crime use existing laws to imprison criminals who abuse firearms to prey on innocent Americans," said Lawrence Keane, senior vice president of NSSF, the largest arms trading industry group.
Sedangkan kaburn Brown, presiden Asosiasi Nasional untuk Hak-Hak Senjata Api mengatakan dalam sebuah pernyataan, Presiden Biden " bertujuan untuk menjadi presiden yang paling anti-senjata api dalam sejarah bangsa kita."
President Biden last year signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant firearms control law in 30 years.
Since then, Republicans have won control of the House of Representatives, ending nearly all opportunities for firearms for the next two years, as President Biden proposed bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
Even so, President Biden called on Congress to act, and regretted that the 1994 assault weapons ban was lifted 10 years later.
"So let's finish this job. Ban attack weapons. Ban them again. Do it now. Enough. Do something, do something big," he said.
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