March For Our Lives rally, Columbus, Ohio, 2018

President Joe Biden took several significant executive actions yesterday to combat gun violence. In a White House Rose Garden ceremony, Biden, along with U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, announced that he is:

• • Directing the Department of Justice (DOJ) to propose regulations to stop the proliferation of deadly, untraceable “ghost guns”;
  • Modifying federal grant programs to increase available funding for community violence intervention programs;
  • Publishing a model state “red flag” law (which would permit families or law enforcement to petition courts to remove guns from someone who poses a threat to themself or others);
  • Directing DOJ to issue a new, annual comprehensive report on firearms trafficking;
  • Directing DOJ to propose a regulation ensuring the stabilizing arm braces that circumvent the law on dangerous short-barrel rifles are subject to the National Firearms Act;
  • Nominating David Chipman, a former special agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and longtime gun owner and gun safety expert, to be the director of the ATF.