Biden’s call for gun control

Ava Hunt

The sound of gunshots ringing in the air. People frantically running for safety. Victims silently praying for shelter and protection. 

After two mass shootings occurred in back to back weeks of March 2021, President Joe Biden announced he is considering an executive order addressing gun control in the United States. This plan for an executive order was announced the day after Biden urged Congress to pass a new ban on assault weapons and to require more extensive background checks for purchasing guns. The  Administration will not wait for Congress to act, so The White House has announced six initial actions they plan to take to address gun violence. Biden has reiterated the impact he believes this executive order could make in the country and how necessary he thinks this is. 

“I do not need to wait another minute, let alone an hour, to take common-sense steps that will save lives in the future and to urge my colleagues in the House and Senate to act. We can ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in this country once again,” Biden said. 

These two specific mass shootings are reasons for this push for stricter gun control. In Boulder, Colorado, a mass shooting occurred on March 22 in a King Soopers supermarket, resulting in 10 people being killed. There was also a series of mass shootings that occurred in Atlanta, Georgia spas on March 16, which ended in eight people being murdered. These shootings in Georgia occurred at Young’s Asian Massage, Gold Massage Spa and Aromatherapy Spa. 

An executive order for gun control could affect the Xavier community in various ways, with an example being that it could potentially make some students feel safer at school. Some share an opinion on the recent mass shootings and what the United States needs to do regarding these events. 

“I feel as if the public just acknowledges that these mass shootings happen, it is as if we think of it as just another shooting, when in reality, we really should be asking ourselves how we can solve these problems,” junior Brady Horstmann said. 

These shootings have major effects on the communities they occur in and they can happen anywhere, anytime. For example, these communities experience hardships through the deaths that occur and the mourning process of everything and everyone that was damaged because of the incident, which can last a long time. 

According to The Recovery Village, 15.4% of shooting and stabbing victims will develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

Biden is urging stricter action against assault-style weapons in hopes to better protect the American people from this level of violence. However, political parties have varying views on these actions, as some support stricter gun control and background checks while others do not in order to protect Second Amendment rights. Certain groups are against these steps towards stricter gun control because of various reasons, including the fact that some Americans still lean towards anti-gun control policies and a large amount of Americans do not believe that Democrats reflect their views on guns. 

“Currently, whether we want to admit it or not, our system of permits is one of mistrust,” Iowa Republican State Senator Jason Schultz said. “That means you can exercise a fundamental right, but you must prove yourself not guilty in advance. That is not how America is supposed to work.”

Amongst the opposing views, the Biden Administration has proposed rules for The Justice Department to help stop the proliferation of “ghost guns”,   publish model “red flag” legislation for states, etc. 

Through the adversity around these executive orders, in the end, Biden reiterates his hopes to provide a greater level of protection for all Americans.