In response to the recent gun violence that has taken place around the country President Joe Biden has announced limited gun restrictions in the form of executive actions and vowed to pressure Congress to focus on and pass gun control.
On the same day the Biden-Harris Administration announced their “initial actions to address the gun violence public health epidemic,” the city of Rock Hill fell victim to a deadly shooting. This tragedy hit close to home for Winthrop University claiming six victims, including the former Winthrop University medical director and physician Dr. Robert Lesslie as well as his wife and two grandchildren.
In this initial announcement, the administration promises six limited gun restrictions among these are to propose a rule to stop “ghost guns,” which are guns assembled by an individual from parts without a serial number within 30 days, to publish a model “red flag” legislation within 60 days, and to nominate David Chipman as Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Chipman will be the first confirmed director of the bureau since 2015 if he accepts.
“The proposals may help a little bit around the edges, but the fact is that we really need much more major gun policy than we have,” said Dr. Chris Van Aller, a professor in the Department of Political Science.
Van Aller did show interest in the red flag gun legislation model but pointed out the flaws in initial action.
“I think the proposal I like the best out of all of them is the one talking about red flag laws but that is something that can’t really be mandated by the government, it’s more of an example,” Van Aller said
The initial action of publishing a red flag gun control model legislation is one of the most important parts of this announcement, as red flag gun laws would allow a family member or a member of law enforcement to petition the state court to temporarily remove any firearms from someone who is considered a danger to themselves or others. This model will make it so that states who want to pass red flag legislation will have an easier time doing so.
Biden is also pressuring Congress to pass a national red flag law; the idea along with the initial action with hopes that Congress could also pass legislation incentivizing states to pass red flag gun laws.
There is not much Biden can do other than these proposals and actions, since any sort of Executive Order can just be overturned by the next president and the best chance for lasting gun legislation is proposing a constitutional amendment which requires a two-thirds supermajority vote.
“Biden is showing symbolically that he is trying, but he can’t get anything too major through this congress unless Republicans join with him,” Van Aller said.
Getting a supermajority of Congress to agree to any sort of major gun control is going to be almost impossible as can be seen in recent years. Van Aller offers an example of this saying, “Things like mandatory background checks, which are supported by over 80% of the public, couldn’t even get passed after Sandy Hook.”
There are lots of different ideas for potential gun regulations. Some Winthrop University students have their own ideas of what the government should do to handle gun violence in the United States like focusing on mental health or creating a proper policing system that citizens can trust.
“I wish we had another alternative to fight gun violence as I feel like gun control is a temporary solution to a huge issue,” political science major and freshman Ella Miller said. “Gun control/background checks don’t really fix the root cause of gun violence which I feel is mental health. Ideally I would like free mental health support, anti racism education in schools and better mental health outreach in high school. Unfortunately that is not an option at the moment and we don’t have time to make it one, so I support gun control as a temporary solution.”
“I believe gun violence in America is a cultural issue. People feel unsafe at the hands of our government and police system which makes them depend on guns,” said political science and economics major and freshman Amaya Patterson. “They want looser gun restrictions which allows them to fall into the wrong hands. Until we have proper policing that makes us feel safe, we cannot escape this cycle of government and civilian gun violence. I believe that the people should be able to protect themselves but we shouldn’t have to depend on guns the way we do.”
Other students think the solution is to come together and make a decision as a country in a bipartisan way rather than making it an argument between the political parties.
“I believe we need gun regulations, and we need to come together as a country and figure out a way to decrease the violence together,” exercise science major and freshman Alexandra Elliot said. “Although, I do not know how to do it.”
When it comes to passing any sort of gun legislation in America one must keep in mind that those in favor of it need to focus on what is possible to get passed in our current system and what can realistically be done. While it may not seem enough, there are just some things that in our current political climate that are not going to be able to get passed because of the extreme difference of opinions.
Overall, it’s important to note that Biden’s initial actions will not change much or be noticed right away. They’re mostly suggestions models for what states and/or Congress could
possibly do if they choose to do so.
Any sort of actual gun regulation and legislation on a national level would have to happen in Congress and at this point in time any sort of extreme regulations would have very little chance of happening.
