On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced a half-dozen executive actions aimed at addressing America’s “gun violence public health epidemic.” Among the actions are regulations on “ghost guns,” or home-assembled firearms, and an official appointee to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, which hasn’t had a confirmed director in six years.
Media pundits, politicians and others were quick to comment on Biden’s announcement, ranging from celebration to concern.
Charles C. W. Cooke, a senior writer for National Review, called Biden’s announcement an “anemic end-run around Congress.”
“Every pro-gun voter in the country was just informed by the president of the United States that he has decided to bypass Congress and take executive action to advance gun control,” Cooke wrote. “If there is one thing Democrats should have learned over the last couple of decades, it is that there is no upside for them when they make an issue out of gun control but achieve nothing of consequence from their efforts.”
Pam Sohn, opinion editor for the Chattanooga Times Free Press, argued that governance by executive order has become necessary.
“The moves fall short of steps Biden has pressured Congress to take, but they make good on his pledge last month to take ‘common-sense’ steps on his own,” Sohn wrote. “Clearly, now, like former President Barack Obama, Biden has determined that executive actions are a more viable vehicle for progress given the narrowly divided Congress and a slate of other pressing priorities.”
Jonathan Turley, a professor of law at George Washington University, doubts the actions will have a substantial effect on gun violence.
“The fact is that the range of possible reforms is very limited and are unlikely to produce transformational change on gun violence,” Turley wrote for Fox News. “That does not mean that regulating ‘ghost guns’ (home-constructed weapons without serial numbers) is not a good idea. However, such regulation would not have altered past mass shootings.”
The Washington Post editorial board praised President Biden for his “heartening” action.
“Each day in the United States, more than 300 people are shot and more than 100 of them die. Some lose their lives in mass shootings that garner national attention. Others — the vast majority — die as the result of suicides or domestic homicides or street crime,” the editorial read. “Kudos ... to Mr. Biden for using his limited unilateral authority (and) for calling on Congress to do more(.)”
Several members of Utah’s congressional delegation expressed disappointment in Biden’s action, including Rep. Chris Stewart.
“The right of Americans to defend themselves and their families is fundamental,” Stewart said. “The Biden administration needs to focus on helping those with mental illness and stopping criminals from committing crimes, not restricting the rights of law-abiding citizens.”