Joe Biden is to announce new actions he hopes will tighten access to firearms in the United States of America, and he will do so whilst present in one of the communities recently affected by a mass shooting.
Biden will visit the city of Monterey Park in California, where a shooting killed 11 people in January, to extend his official condolences to the community.
There he plans to give a speech on gun control and explain the measures he wants to promote before the end of his first term in office.
Among them is an order to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to adjust the current legal definition of companies that sell guns so that they adhere more closely to the law that requires them to check the criminal records of all potential buyers.
“This measure means fewer guns will be sold without a background check and therefore fewer will end up in the hands of criminals and abusers,” said a White House official who previewed the actions in a media call.
Biden will also announce that the government will launch information campaigns on the so-called “Red Flag” laws, which allow for a legal mechanism to confiscate the firearms of those who pose a danger to others or themselves.
“19 states and the District of Columbia have passed such laws, but they are not effective if the public does not know when and how to use them,” the official added.
With respect to gun manufacturers, Biden will ask the Federal Trade Commission to prepare a report on how these companies promote the use of firearms among minors.
June marks one year since Congress passed a limited but historic legislative agreement on gun control.
The bill included an overhaul of the purchasing process for those under 21 and included incentives for states to pass so-called “red flag” laws.
However, such restrictions have been opposed by some members of the Republican party, who have argued that they violate constitutional rights, as well as the expected opposition from NRA members.
On 21 January, a man killed eleven people in the city of Monterey Park, 15 kilometers from Los Angeles, and committed suicide shortly afterwards when he was cornered by police, and Biden is hoping one of the lasting legacies of his administration is that incidents like this are far more of a rarity.