Biden and Harris Push for Tighter Gun Regulations on Anniversary of Uvalde Incident

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris marked the two-year anniversary of the tragic mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, by advocating for stricter gun regulations nationwide.

Biden penned a letter to the families affected by the event, where 18-year-old former student Salvador Ramos took the lives of 19 children and two teachers before being fatally shot by the police, who were criticized for delaying engagement with the shooter for over an hour.

In his letter, Biden offered prayers and sympathies to the families and commended their advocacy for progress in the nation, emphasizing his call on Congress to ban assault weapons.

Harris echoed similar sentiments in a statement released by the White House, urging Congress and state legislators to take action by banning assault weapons, passing red flag laws, and implementing universal background checks.

Biden and Harris highlighted the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), signed into law by Biden approximately a month after the Uvalde tragedy, which provides funding for states to enforce red-flag laws, improve mental health services, enhance school safety, scrutinize gun buyers under 21 or domestic abusers, and impose stricter penalties for gun trafficking.

“Through this bill, my administration is closing dangerous loopholes and implementing the most significant expansion of gun background checks in decades,” Biden stated.

Harris added, “Working with gun safety advocates in Uvalde and across the country, we have also taken more action to reduce gun violence than any other administration in history.”

The BSCA is now at the center of a lawsuit filed on May 1 by 21 Republican state attorneys general and five individuals concerning a new rule issued by the ATF in April that broadens the definition of a firearms dealer, requiring federal licensing and background checks for certain gun transactions.

The lawsuit challenges the modification of the firearms dealer definition from “with the principal objective of livelihood and profit” to “predominantly earn a profit” and the inclusion of alternative forms of profit other than monetary gain in the new rule.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen raised concerns about the rule’s impact on defining a firearm “dealer” and the expanded criteria for profit determination, which now extends beyond monetary transactions.