‘They know what it’s like:’ Sandy Hook parents join Biden for announcement on gun actions

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WASHINGTON — One year after losing his son Daniel in the Sandy Hook school shooting, Mark Barden joined President Barack Obama at the White House as Obama unveiled a series of executive actions aimed at stopping more gun deaths.

Three years later in 2016, Barden was back at the White House, at Obama’s side again as he launched new gun control initiatives after Congress declined to change the nation’s gun laws.

Since then, the number of people who die from gun violence has climbed, with 2020 the deadliest year on record, data from the Gun Violence Archive shows. On Thursday, Barden and his wife, Jackie, were back again — this time standing by a new president attempting again to curb the same intractable problem.

1of12President Joe Biden gestures as he speaks about gun violence prevention in the Rose Garden at the White House, Thursday, April 8, 2021, in Washington.Andrew Harnik/AP

“They know what it’s like to bury a piece of your soul deep in the earth,” President Joe Biden told the small crowd gathered in the White House Rose Garden Thursday. “Mark and Jackie, I want to tell you, it’s always good to see you but not under these circumstances.”

Calling it an “epidemic” of gun violence, Biden — Obama’s vice president and gun control point-man — unveiled a series of six new executive actions to address the problem Thursday, on the heels of multiple recent mass shootings. Biden has been under immense political pressure to use his presidential powers to act as new legislation on firearms has stalled in Congress for years.

In a 15-minute speech, Biden called gun deaths in the U.S. — over 11,000 so far this year — an “international embarrassment” and “a blemish on our character as a nation.”

Biden’s new actions include directing the U.S. Justice Department to develop a rule so “ghost guns” — weapons built from kits — are assigned serial numbers and buyers are subject to federal background checks. He said the DOJ will also issue a rule to regulate certain firearm devices that can effectively turn pistols into short-barreled rifles, like the weapon used in a March shooting in Boulder, Colorado.

Biden also directed the DOJ to publish model “red-flag law” legislation for states to implement to help courts temporarily remove guns from people who pose a threat to themselves or others and release an annual report on firearm trafficking, the first since 2000. Biden appointing a gun-control advocate and former federal agent, David Chipman, to lead the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms. The administration will also invest in community violence intervention programs.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., called Biden’s efforts “the most significant executive action on gun violence in a generation.”

But by the standards of some other gun safety advocates they are modest first steps and Biden framed them as his “initial” actions, with more to come. Biden also outlined his goals for legislation, including bolstering federal background check laws, making it easier for law enforcement to remove guns from domestic abusers, limiting the availability of assault-style weapons and eliminating legal immunity for gun manufacturers.

Biden hailed the work of U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Blumenthal and a few other members of Congress in the audience Thursday, noting especially Murphy was “absolutely determined” to make change.

Murphy and Blumenthal are leading Senate efforts to pass new gun control laws. Many gun violence prevention advocates, who have been lobbying the White House and Congress on this issue also attended Thursday, including Po Murray of Newtown Action Alliance and Jackie and Mark Barden, who lead Sandy Hook Promise.

After the Rose Garden speeches, Biden, lawmakers and advocates headed to the Oval Office for conversation and mingling.

Blumenthal said in the Oval, he was already discussing the next executive actions that the White House could take. He’s pressing the administration to next use its authority to close the “Charleston loophole,” which allows a gun owner to purchase a weapon if the federal government has not completed a background check within three days, he said.

While executive actions can be undone by the next president, gun law reform may have a better shot at the White House than Capitol Hill due to opposition from many Republican lawmakers and conservative groups.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Biden’s actions Thursday were trampling on Second Amendment rights.

“He is soft on crime, but infringes on the rights of law-abiding citizens,” McCarthy said. “I won’t stand for it.”

Holly Smith, president of the Connecticut Citizens Defense League, called Biden’s actions concerning and urged the administration to focus on prosecuting criminal who unlawfully possess guns.

“A ‘ghost gun’ is misunderstood to be undetectable. However, it is still unlawful for a felon or other prohibited person to possess firearms,” Smith said. “Criminals will not cease to break the law. However, this uniquely American legacy of gunsmithing is in jeopardy while we believe that legislation will not stop violent criminals from breaking the law.”

Blumenthal called “ghost guns” assembled from kits “homemade instruments of death that no law abiding gun owner would want.”

“We have seen a dramatic increase in the sale and use of these dangerous DIY weapons since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic making this action all the more urgent,” he said. “There is no reason that a gun built in your kitchen should be treated any differently that one bought in a store.”

In 2019, Connecticut passed a ghost-gun law requiring these weapons to obtain a serial number so they can be traced. The state is now debating whether to expand the law.

Murphy hailed Biden’s actions, saying “We finally have a president who is ready to treat gun violence like an epidemic we can solve.”

Murphy has been leading Senate negotiations over legislation to tighten background checks on commercial sales and private transactions. His proposal and the bill passed by the House faces opposition from at least one Senate Democrat, making it challenging to pass in a 50-50 split Senate. Murphy sounded optimistic Wednesday night, however.

“I’ve been working hard over the last two weeks, talking to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle about the need to expand background checks,” Murphy said. “The NRA’s influence is fading, the gun violence prevention movement is stronger than ever, and the prospect to pass lifesaving legislation that is supported by more than 90% of Americans has never been better.”

Similarly, Blumenthal has been working with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on legislation to establish a federal red-flag law that would help law enforcement temporarily remove guns from people who threaten violence against their community. Biden’s executive actions do not implement a federal red flag law, but would guide states on how to pass their own.

At least 19 states, including Connecticut, each have some version of a red flag law. Connecticut’s is the oldest law in the nation, passed in 1999.

After the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, which claimed the lives of 20 young children and six teachers, Connecticut took several steps to enhance its gun laws, making them some of the most restrictive in the nation. The state made background checks universal for all firearm and ammunition purchases and outlawed more than 100 additional assault weapons and large capacity magazines holding more than 10 rounds.

But Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo testified to Congress in March that while Connecticut may have some of the strongest gun laws, guns can still flow into the state across state lines.

“Gun traffickers will continue to exploit weaknesses in federal law,” he said. “Unless we can stop the unchecked flow of guns into cities like mine, preventing cycles of violence will be almost impossible.”

Advocacy groups like Sandy Hook Promise and Newtown Action Alliance formed in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre have been pushing for federal changes ever since — placing a major emphasis on ensuring more gun sales require background checks. Mark Barden, co-founder and managing director of Sandy Hook Promise, said Thursday he was honored to work with Biden on ending gun violence.

Nicole Hockley, Sandy Hook Promise co-founder and managing director, who lost her son Dylan in the shooting, said even after the executive actions Thursday legislation is needed for greater change.

“Today’s actions are just the first steps,” she said.

emilie.munson@hearstdc.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson

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