Days after releasing a much-ballyhooed 13-page progress report on the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, the Biden-Harris administration has announced a new executive order that may be more flash than substance, but it will generate some headlines with the national election just over one month away.
According to the announcement, this executive order establishes an “Emerging Firearms Threats Task Force” to assess “the threat posed by machinegun conversion devices and unserialized, 3D-printed firearms.” This report, due within 90 days, will also include “an assessment of federal agencies’ operational and legal capacities to detect, intercept, and seize machinegun conversion devices and unserialized, 3D-printed firearms; and an interagency plan for combatting these emerging threats. The report will include any additional authorities or funding the federal agencies need from Congress in order to complete this work.”
There doesn’t appear to be anything in this exercise about actually confronting, arresting, prosecuting or taking down criminals.
An old political axiom holds that the best way to do nothing is to launch a study. In this case, announcing a “task force” which will consist of “leadership from key federal departments and agencies” to do an “assessment” just might be the new way to define an old political tactic of making it look like something is being done.
Translation: The Biden-Harris White House just used 2,748 words to essentially accomplish nothing.
Of course, the announcement generated news coverage. It talked about the dangers posed by “conversion devices” used to illegally convert semiautomatic firearms to fire full auto. Fox News reported, “The assessment will also include a review of federal agencies, operational and legal capacities to detect, intercept and seize these firearm and firearm components.”
That still doesn’t look like gang thugs and other miscreants will be rounded up and imprisoned.
Buried deeper in the White House announcement is this: “By the end of October, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will announce that states may choose to use Medicaid to pay a health care provider for counseling parents and caregivers on firearm safety and injury prevention.”
Are these “health care providers” also certified firearms instructors? If not, any “counseling” they might offer, whether it is to get guns out of the house or make sure there’s a loaded Model 1911 in every room, should be eyed with suspicion.
Once again, this reveals the Biden-Harris philosophy, which treats gun-related violence as a public health problem—which it isn’t—rather than a crime problem, which it most definitely is.
Another tenet of the Biden-Harris announcement is “Facilitating Enhanced Background Checks for Individuals Under Age 21.” Included in this one learns that the Justice Department “is issuing model legislation that additional states may use to inform their own legislation and allow a carve-out to share juvenile records solely for the purpose of enhanced background checks.”
A few lines later, the announcement says, “Part of the enhanced background check requires requesting records from state and local law enforcement and mental health repositories about potential purchasers under 21.”
Also included in the White House announcement:
“Today, the FBI is announcing that it will collect additional detail in its data collection for gunshot injury wounds in the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) by June 2025. The FBI will implement a new injury code to reflect a gunshot wound in the NIBRS victim segment. NIBRS will also enable law enforcement agencies to submit additional detail as to how firearms were used in specific crimes, and the nature of the crime at issue.”
Will this make the FBI annual crime report more user-friendly? Since 2020, the easily understood and utilized Uniform Crime Report has been replaced by the NIBRS, which makes information more difficult to obtain, understand and utilize. When this correspondent tried repeatedly to contact FBI information officers for clarifications, via telephone voice mails and emails, nobody from the agency ever responded.
“Encouraging Safe Storage of Firearms: Today, the Department of Education is providing schools, school boards, and policymakers with a new tool to promote safe gun storage in their communities. Following up on its initial safe storage actions, the Department of Education is publishing an interactive website that highlights examples of state, community, and school district actions across the nation that promote safe gun storage within school communities. The website includes a map with state safe storage laws, examples of how schools are communicating with parents about safe storage, and examples of local policies on safe storage education. This new resource builds on guidance the Department published earlier this year to highlight physical safety measures schools can pursue to help keep students safe in the event of gun violence in schools.”
And then there is this:
“Facilitating Voluntary Out-of-Home Storage to Prevent Firearm Suicide: Voluntary out-of-home storage of firearms is an effective tactic to saves lives by creating time and space between a person in crisis and a firearm. A number of states, including Colorado, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, have developed gun storage maps to show different locations where a gun owner can voluntarily store their firearms…”
It raises the question, what happens in the event a gun owner needs his/her firearm in an emergency, such as a home invasion or the aftermath of a natural or man-made disaster?
While all of this may sound good and cause anti-gunners to feel like something is being done, is it all smoke and mirrors?
Will any of this stop a single madman from trying to shoot a president or a candidate for office? Will it prevent a teen thug from robbing a convenience store and maybe shooting the clerk?
If not, then what really is the point?
About Dave Workman
From the article:Translation: The Biden-Harris White House just used 2,748 words to essentially accomplish nothing.
Hell, in my opinion they did that for almost four years and didn’t accomplish anything good, only the destruction of our country and in their own words, destruction of our democracy.
but what about the Governments penchant for gun violence..?
Afterall, they put a hit out on Trump with the advertisement for $150K
JFK would chime in here as well, but wait, they killed him in a cover up.
Biden sure let alot of illegals that formed gangs into the Country.
Responsible gun ownership is the duty of every qualified and capable citizen. When the government does not trust decent people with guns Decent people can no longer trust their government.
I don’t trust democrats Government.
And not One Single Word About Locking up Bad Guys and Throwing Away the Key……..
Gun violence has long been a necessary evil in liberal progressive democrats war on the 2nd Amendment. Because they know without it they have nothing to scare their acolytes with. This is little more than a ploy to sate the screaming of those acolytes to ‘Do Something”. Knowing full well that it will have no effect on criminals illegal firearms use
Maybe they’ll extend the new “extra-extended” background check again. Their goal is a background screen nobody passes.
We the people do not need more gun control , what we need is more idiot controls on the idiots in DC . Put them all on an island and let them govern each other and leave the citizens out of thier ignorance
Defective premises yield defective solutions. Case in point.
What is the “point” of this nearly 3,000 word salad by the RADICALIZED Biden/Harras regime? The POINT is to add RESTRICTIONS and INFRINGMENTS upon Legal Law Abiding American Citizens!
The attempt to pass a bill or an executive action, that has as its
purpose, the creation of an impediment to the Bill of Rights, shall
be deemed to be an act of treason. Under the1995 precedent of
the “Defense of women” act, a provable act of treason, shall not
be subject to a statute of limitations.
to help keep students safe in the event of gun violence in schools.”
How about training and arming very adult who works a the school on safe and effective firearm handling, such that IF some cray student or other person shows a gun and begins to use it to harm, any/all of said armed and trained adult will be able and willing to neutralise the threat.
Ohio’s FASTER Saves Lives programme is amazing.. has reduced incidents involving firearms at Ohio schools o ZERO, and costs NOTHING for the taxpayers.