The White House said Tuesday that President Joe Biden won’t rule out using executive orders to enact stringent gun control measures.
The subject came up during a White House press conference, in the wake of Biden’s recent comments pushing gun control.
Biden had called for banning some semi-automatic firearms, banning “high capacity” magazines, and eliminating civil liability protection for gun manufacturers.
The Hill notes that amid this recent push for gun restrictions, “A November Gallup poll found support for stricter gun laws is at its lowest level since 2016.”
"He's not afraid of standing up to the NRA, he's done it multiple times and won."@PressSec tells reporters that gun control is a personal priority for @JoeBiden. pic.twitter.com/voNwPwHhFy
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) February 16, 2021
Psaki: Biden ‘Has Not Been Afraid Of Standing Up To The NRA’
A reporter asked Psaki, “What is your timetable for action on what the president calls common sense measures? And what’s the realistic hope that you have this will pass both houses?”
Psaki replied, “Well, we haven’t proposed a package at this point. So it’s hard for me to make a prediction about its likelihood of passing.”
“But I will say that the president is somebody throughout his career who has advocated for smart gun safety measures,” Psaki continued. “He has not been afraid of standing up to the NRA.”
NEW: At a press conference today, Press Sec. Jen Psaki said that Pres. Biden is "not afraid of standing up to the NRA" and won't rule out using executive orders to enforce stricter gun control measures
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) February 16, 2021
She continued, “He’s done it multiple times and won on background checks and a range of issues.”
Psaki also said that implementing gun control was personal for President Biden.
“And it is a priority to him on a personal level, but I don’t have a prediction for you, or preview for you on a timeline of a package, and certainly not what it will look like and how it goes through Congress” she said.
President Biden, three years after to the day after the Parkland shooting, calls on Congress to pass new gun control measures including universal background checks, a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and an end to immunity for gun makers in certain cases. pic.twitter.com/AlzEyrjoJj
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) February 14, 2021
Psaki Says Biden Could Take Executive Action
Another reporter asked later during the conference, “Does the president still plan to take executive action on gun control?”
“The president has a range of actions at his disposal,” Psaki replied. “He hasn’t ruled out either of those options.”
Watch:
.@PressSec Jen Psaki reiterated @joebiden‘s commitment to tackling gun violence today.
We hope to see @potus act proactively & urgently soon.
WH must take executive action, set out legislative goals & increase funding for community-based violence intervention programs. pic.twitter.com/IsLYIVgnSn
— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) February 16, 2021
Last week, Biden called on Congress to “enact commonsense gun law reforms, including requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers who knowingly put weapons of war on our streets.”
Now that Biden has made his proclamations… would any of this actually work?
Reason Author: Biden Policies Don’t Make Sense
Reason’s Jacob Sullum notes the ridiculousness of Biden’s gun control gambit.
“This week, President Joe Biden marked the three-year anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, by urging Congress to ‘enact commonsense gun law reforms.’ Sullum wrote Tuesday.
“The implication was that the gun controls Biden favors would prevent crimes like the Parkland massacre.”
There is little reason to think that’s true,” Sullum insisted. “The bills Biden is eager to sign would instead arbitrarily limit Second Amendment rights and threaten the viability of the industry that makes it possible to exercise them.”
Sullum takes aim at calls to ban “assault” weapons, but the problem is that these calls merely cover aesthetic modifications:
The problem, according to Biden, was that manufacturers could comply with the law by “making minor modifications to their products — modifications that leave them just as deadly.”
But there is no way around that problem, since laws like these are based on “military-style” features, such as folding stocks, threaded barrels, and bayonet mounts, that have nothing to do with a weapon’s destructive power.
Ironically, perhaps the most extreme of Biden’s positions – that gun manufacturers could be held liable if a criminal uses one of their products in a crime, was shot down by none other than socialist Bernie Sanders.
Sullum writes, “As Sen. Bernie Sanders, I–Vermont, noted in 2016, exposing businesses to potentially ruinous judgments when a legally purchased firearm is used to commit a crime is a prescription for “ending gun manufacturing in America,” meaning “your position is there should not be any guns in America, period.”
He concludes, “Biden’s ‘commonsense’ gun control prescriptions are ‘common’ in the sense that politicians often push them.”
“Whether they make ‘sense’ is another matter,” Sullum finishes.