Biden Announces New Gun Control Measures—Here’s What His Executive Order Will Do

The order will clarify existing federal laws that require background checks by anyone in the business of selling firearms, with the aim of implementing almost universal background checks “without additional legislation,” the White House said.

It also directs the attorney general to develop a plan to prevent firearms dealers whose federal licenses have been revoked from continuing to sell guns, and directs the DOJ to work with the Secretary of Transportation to reduce the number of firearms that are lost or stolen during shipping.

The Biden Administration will now help expand public awareness of “reg flag laws” already in place in 19 states, which allow a person’s firearms to be taken away if they’re considered dangerous, as well as take steps to promote safe storage of firearms.

Information on firearms dealers who have violated federal laws will be made publicly accessible under the order, in order to hold them accountable and increase transparency, and directs the Federal Trade Commission to issue a public report on how firearms are marketed, including to minors.

The order instructs federal agencies to develop more rigorous requirements around using the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN)—which matches gun casings to the firearms they were fired from and helps connect different shootings—and asks the agencies to issue progress reports on their compliance with the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act on gun control that Biden signed into law last year.

Biden will ask his cabinet to develop a proposal for supporting communities who have been impacted by mass shootings and gun violence survivors, including mental health care, financial assistance and food.

The order also directs the attorney general to work with Congress to modernize the Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988, which is set to expire in December, to make it harder for firearms to be made that can evade metal detectors.