Gun control has been one of the policy issues at the top of Democrats' priority list. Now that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are in office, they're going to do everything in their power to make sure these so-called "common sense" gun control initiatives make their way off the liberal wish list and become a reality. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki made that clear on Tuesday when she admitted Biden would consider signing an Executive Order if Congress doesn't pass the legislation the White House wants to see.
"What is your time table for what the president calls 'common sense' [gun control] measures and what's a realistic hope you have that it will pass both houses?" a reporter asked.
"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. He is not afraid of standing up to the NRA," she explained. He’s done it multiple times and won on background checks and a range of issues and it is a priority to him on a personal level."
"The president has a range of actions at his disposal,” Psaki said. “He hasn’t ruled out either of those options."
Over the weekend – on the third anniversary of the Parkland shooting – the White House released a statement calling on Congress to pass "common sense gun safety" measures.
"This Administration will not wait for the next mass shooting to heed that call. We will take action to end our epidemic of gun violence and make our schools and communities safer," Biden said in the statement. "Today, I am calling 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. We owe it to all those we’ve lost and to all those left behind to grieve to make a change. The time to act is now."
What's sad is I predicted their strategy, especially on the Parkland front. The Biden-Harris team (or is it Harris-Biden?) want to be able to point to a laundry list of "accomplishments" from the first 100 days in office. Don't take what they're saying as empty-handed threats. Look at the record number of EOs Biden signed his first few days in office. No one thought he was serious despite him saying multiple times he would do it. And he did.
If Biden does go through with the Executive Order to check off the Democrats' gun control wish list, it would (sort of) fulfill a promise Harris made on the campaign trail, when she was still running for president. She promised to sign EOs to implement universal background checks; prosecute Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) if someone "slips through the cracks" and their background check comes back clean; and to close the so-called "boyfriend loophole" that is part of the Violence Against Women Act. Of course, the threat included the "100 day" stipulation.
As I said on Sunday, it wouldn't be surprising if Biden signs EOs on gun control. Democrats are so focused on "making history" that they're willing to do whatever's necessary for their legacy sake, including signing yet another EO. And you know they'll word it like "Congress failed to rise to the moment" or "we asked Congress to honor the victims of gun violence by passing much needed reform and they didn't rise to the occasion."