(PresidentialInsider.com)- Those advocating for gun control were confident that President Joe Biden would make significant progress in advancing their agenda when he took office back in January.
Thus far, though, he’s done anything but that, and many people who want to prevent gun violence in America are disappointed in the job he’s doing.
There are two recent instances that exemplify Biden’s failures on gun control, according to these advocates.
The first is the fact that Biden’s nominee to head up the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives withdrew his name from consideration. The second was the president’s response to the school shooting that happened recently in Michigan, which they believe “fell short,” according to a report in The Hill.
In his first year in office, Biden has issued multiple executive orders directed at preventing gun violence. At the same time, though, legislation pushed by his administration that would expand things like background checks have fallen flat on their face in the Senate.
One person who’s disappointed in the job Biden has done on gun control is Zeenat Yahya, who serves as the deputy policy director for March for Our Lives. She said:
“I think the biggest thing to highlight here is that the president has been a friend to the gun violence prevention movement this year and we’re thankful, but frankly, he hasn’t really been a leader.
“We’re definitely surprised. We were really hopeful and he made a lot of promises. We are thankful for some of the actions the president has already taken but there is so much more he can do that’s a comprehensive top-to-bottom approach.”
Many people who advocate for tighter gun control believe that the Biden administration needs to pressure members of Congress more to step up and do something about gun violence in America.
A big stumbling block the administration faces is the current makeup of the Senate, where there’s a 50-50 split of Democrats and Republicans. On every bill related to gun control or gun violence, Democrats would need the support of at least 10 members of the GOP to avoid the filibuster rule — and only if all 50 Democrats support a bill.
While that is an obvious roadblock to progress, gun control advocates believe that the Biden administration isn’t even putting a solid plan into action as to how they will address it.
That’s one thing, though, that Biden administration officials are pushing back on.
One of the White House’s senior adviser to the domestic policy adviser, Stef Feldman, said “a comprehensive strategy is exactly what we have done in 2021, and we will continue to execute on it in the new year.”
That strategy, she said, involves multiple federal agencies. It seeks to address suicide, mass shootings, domestic violence, community violence, family shootings and accidental shootings.
The plan is also looking at the increased demand for guns, and then holding gun dealers accountable for what they sell and who they sell it to.
