The Biden-Harris Administration’s Whole-of-Government Approach Has Driven Historic Declines in Gun Homicides – But More Action is Needed, Especially at State Level
(September 26, 2024), WASHINGTON, DC – Today, CeaseFirePA joined President Biden, Vice President Harris, and scores of gun violence prevention advocates from across the country for an event to celebrate what the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention has achieved since its creation one year ago. Advocates also supported new Executive Orders that will save lives from gun violence, including one to crack down on “glock switches” – a device that can easily convert a handgun into a machine gun, and which police believe was used in the recent mass shooting in Birmingham, Alabama that left at least four people dead and 17 injured.
FBI data released this week show an almost 12% decline in homicides nationally in 2023 – the largest year-to-year drop in recorded history – on top of a 6% decline the prior year. In Pennsylvania, homicides plummeted 16% in 2023. The Biden-Harris administration’s unprecedented investments in community-based violence intervention programs and a whole-of-government approach to implement the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act have been key to this progress. But these efforts must be continued and reinforced, advocates say.
“State-level policy change is absolutely critical to preventing gun violence, but we can’t end this epidemic without proactive federal leadership and investments,” said Adam Garber, Executive Director of CeaseFirePA. “Under the oversight of Vice President Kamala Harris, the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention has partnered with Pennsylvania and local leaders to pull every lever possible to save lives – and it’s working. Today’s new Executive Orders will combat the catastrophic damage from machine gun converters, known as glock switches, which have recently been linked to fatal shootings from the Lehigh Valley, to the Capital region, to the collar counties and beyond. We won’t stop until all Pennsylvanians are free from gun violence.”
Video from today’s event can be watched here.
The new Executive Orders announced today include:
- Establishing an Emerging Firearm threats task force to develop a coordinated, cross-departmental approach to machine gun converters and 3-D printed firearms designed to avoid existing law.
- Strengthening background checks by releasing model legislation on how juvenile records can be shared to enhance background checks.
- Reducing the trauma of active shooter drills by creating a manual on how to effectively conduct drills to prevent mass shootings while minimizing trauma to students and teachers.
- Clarifying Medicaid guidance on firearm safety counseling and community violence prevention funding to allow states to pay Medicare providers to prevent gun violence.
Key successes of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention in its first year include:
- Overseeing the distribution of $90 million in grants to community-based violence intervention programs, funded by the Bipartisan Safer Community Act – part of a $400 million total investment this administration has made in these evidence-based initiatives.
- Overseeing a whole-of-government implementation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) of 2022 – the most significant new national gun violence prevention law passed in 30 years, including policies to:
- Administer $750 million in BSCA funds to help states implement Extreme Risk Protection Order laws (also called “red flag” laws)
- Expand and enhance background checks
- Enforce straw purchasing and gun trafficking laws
- Identify stolen guns
- Stop domestic gun violence
- Implementing new Executive Orders to prevent gun violence, such as promoting safe gun storage.
More information about gun violence prevention initiatives in Pennsylvania can be found at: www.CeaseFirePA.org.
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As the Commonwealth’s leading gun violence prevention organization, CeaseFirePA Education Fund organizes communities closest to the issue, holds those in power accountable, and maximizes the strengths of every member in its broad coalition.
