Biden administration announces new actions to curb gun violence

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced new actions Thursday on a range of gun-related issues, including a new executive order in part aimed at giving schools guidance about how to train for an active shooter.

The executive order directs Biden administration officials to publish information for K-12 schools and higher education institutions, including resources on how to create, implement and evaluate “evidence-informed active shooter drills,” according to a White House fact sheet.

The information should also include how to conduct effective and age-appropriate drills, and how to best communicate with families and students about the exercises, the White House fact sheet said.

President Joe Biden is directing Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to develop the information, in coordination with other administration officials, according to the fact sheet.

Many schools are utilizing drills in their preparation for an active shooter event, but there is “very limited research” into how to design the exercises “to maximize their effectiveness and limit any collateral harms they might cause,” the fact sheet said.

“Many parents, students, and educators have expressed concerns about the trauma caused by some approaches to these drills,” the fact sheet said. “Federal agencies need to help schools improve drills so they can more effectively prepare for an active shooter situation while also preventing or minimizing any trauma.”

The executive order also establishes a task force on emerging firearm threats, directing it to produce a report that assesses the dangers posed by machine gun conversion devices and 3D-printed firearms that do not have a serial number, according to the fact sheet.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris plan to give remarks later Thursday “addressing the scourge of gun violence in America.”

The Biden administration has taken a series of executive actions to combat American gun violence as Congress remains fiercely divided on firearm regulations, with Democrats pushing for stronger restrictions while Republicans raise objections on Second Amendment grounds.

The Biden administration on Thursday reiterated their calls for Congress to take further action, saying in the fact sheet that Congress should enact “commonsense gun safety legislation,” such as passing a ban on bump stocks and assault weapons.

The task force created by the executive order is poised to look at machine gun conversion devices, a topic that’s received attention from the Justice Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

One top Justice Department official earlier this month said the devices convert handguns and rifles into machine guns, describing them as “highly dangerous.”

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, in a speech, said the devices are often a small piece of plastic or metal that “can convert a run-of-the-mill firearm into a weapon of war.”

Monaco at the time said she was directing U.S. attorneys’ offices across the country to prioritize machine gun conversion prosecutions by using district-specific enforcement strategies.

“From a shooting at a sweet 16 party in Dadeville, Ala., which claimed four lives, to a drive-by shooting in Cincinnati, Ohio, killing an 11-year-old boy in the crossfire, MCDs can transform a street corner into a combat zone, devastating entire communities,” she said.

The executive order directs the task force to issue a report that includes an assessment of the threat posed by the devices, and an assessment of the legal capacities of federal agencies to intercept and seize machine gun conversion devices, according to the fact sheet.

“The report will include any additional authorities or funding the federal agencies need from Congress in order to complete this work,” the fact sheet said.