The Biden administration hopes to pursue gun control measures via “two tracks” — legislation passed by Congress and executive actions from the president — White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday.
The renewed call for restrictions at the federal level came from President Biden on Tuesday, when he spoke after a man killed 10 people in a Boulder, Colorado grocery store, the second mass shooting in one week.
“It should not be a partisan issue,” President Biden said. “This is an American issue. It will save lives, American lives.”
The president urged the Senate to pass two background check bills that passed the House earlier this month, though they face an uphill battle in the 50-50 split chamber.
Earlier Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris told CBS News she’s in favor of congressional action on gun control in order to create more permanent changes.
“I want to be clear that if we really want something that is going to be lasting, we need to pass legislation," she said.
But the president is also exploring executive action on the issue.
“I think he sees it as vital to take steps on two tracks,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday.
Executive orders could include one to address community violence in cities while others could strengthen background checks.
“What our team is looking at now is: What is the legislation that's out there? Are there any gaps that need to be filled, policies or proposals that have been introduced in the past that could be reintroduced?” Psaki said Wednesday, without elaborating on which executive actions were being considered.
Already, Democrats are urging a Senate vote and hoping for compromise after two background check bills moved forward in the House this month.
But Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), who have worked together for years to find compromise on background checks, both said they were opposed to the House legislation, which would close loopholes to ensure background checks are extended to private and online sales that often go undetected, including at gun shows.
A similar version Manchin and Toomey proposed just after the Sandy Hook shooting included a broader set of exemptions than the House bill.
The House also passed a second bill to close the so-called "Charleston Loophole," which allows some gun sales to go through before a background check is completed, introduced by House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC).
President Biden also called for a ban on assault weapons in his remarks on Tuesday, something he successfully passed as a senator in 1994 but that expired ten years later.
“We can ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in this country once again,” he said. “It was law for the longest time, and it brought down these mass killings. We should do it again.”
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) introduced a new version of that ban earlier this month, though it also faces stark Republican opposition.
A Pew Research Center poll in September 2019 showed a wide majority of Americans, 88%, supported making private gun sales and sales at gun shows subject to background checks, which is what the House-passed bill would do.
Other 2019 polls showed that as many as 70% of voters would back a ban on assault-style weapons.
On Wednesday, Press Secretary Psaki pointed to those bipartisan polls and promised that gun reform is something the president will “put his shoulder into.”
“Just because you don't get the policymaking, the legislation done the first time, it doesn't mean you quit trying,” Psaki said, harkening back to past failed attempts to address gun violence when Biden was the vice president.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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