Photo courtesy of Maria Lysenko, Unsplash
President Joe Biden was deeply affected by the Boulder, Colo. shooting attack on March 22. Stemming from the heartache of losing family members in 1973, the head of state declared immediate action to prevent more people from becoming gun violence mortalities.
Victims of the shooting spree, like the store’s demographic makeup, varied by age. The youngest mortalities, Denny Stong, Rikki Olds, Neven Stanisic, died in their early twenties. Another three individuals, Kevin Mahoney, Lynn Murray and Jody Waters, perished in the first half of their sixties. The remaining human casualties, Tralona Bartkowiak, Teri Leiker, Suzanne Fountain and Eric Talley, were middle-aged.
The effects of this tragic event have rippled halfway across the United States to the White House. The fatal car accident of Neilia and Naomi Hunter was an event with which Biden has been struggling to cope with.
It was this sympathy that led him to support the 1993 Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act. This act instituted a universal background check system for gun buyers. The official website for the 2020 Biden-Harris election campaign has claimed that at least 3 million firearms had been averted from reaching potential active shooters.
From that period on, Biden continues to advocate for gun control measures that limit gun proprietorship for potential shooters and terrorists. His recent proposals for stricter gun measures are therefore of no surprise.
Biden stated last week that the Senate "should immediately pass the two House-passed bills that close loopholes in the background check system.”
The two mentioned House bills were the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021/H.R. 1446 and The Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 202/H.R 8.
H.R 8 increased security verification for gun consumers. In this bill, ammunition sales between private parties (e.g: common folk) are now required to implement background checks for those who wish to purchase a gun.
H.R 1446 removes any remaining legal loophole for unrestrained gun purchases. This second House resolution ensures potential terrorists do not receive easy access to deadly rifles and pistols. Both H.R 8 and H.R 1446 are yet to be reviewed and voted on by the Senate.
"This is not and should not be a partisan issue. This is an American issue," the President said in regards to gun control opposition. "It will save lives, American lives, and we have to act."
gluyun@ramapo.edu
