What People are Saying About the Biden Gun Control Proposals

WASHINGTON — Americans took to social media Thursday after President Joe Biden announced measures to curb the rampant spread of gun violence by restricting access to firearms.

The measures, lauded by some and condemned by others, were laid out in a six-point plan of action involving initiatives by the Department of Justice, a multibillion-dollar investment for community violence intervention programs, and the nomination of David Chipman as Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 

“The quickest way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” tweeted former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in response to the initiatives. “Your rights should never be infringed by the government. I stand — without apology — for your 2nd Amendment rights.” 

Biden’s plan would task the Justice Department with halting the sales of ghost guns, make stabilizing braces subject to the National Firearms Act, and publish red flag legislation as a template for states to implement their own restrictive measures, TWN previously reported. In addition, the Biden plan would require the Justice Department to include ghost guns in its annual report on firearms trafficking. 

In response to the administration’s actions, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott took to Twitter to express his desire to make his state a “[Second] Amendment Sanctuary State.” Hours later, however, Abbott tweeted his condolences to victims of a mass shooting perpetrated the same day in Bryan, Texas. 

“Joe Biden should focus more on fixing the crisis he created at the border, instead of trying to take away guns from law-abiding citizens,” tweeted Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., in response to the measures. Buck also said the proposals “trample” American citizen’s Second Amendment rights under the Constitution. 

Biden preemptively addressed Constitutional objections to the plans during the Rose Garden press conference in which he unveiled the campaign to hinder gun violence. Biden argued his administration’s actions did not infringe upon citizen’s rights by pointing out “no amendment to the Constitution is absolute” and referred to such disputations as “phony arguments.” 

Americans over the years have consistently supported stricter regulations for firearms sales, according to Gallup polling data. Fifty-seven percent of respondents to Gallup’s annual poll felt the laws should be “more strict,” compared to 34% who felt they should be kept as is and 9% who felt they should be “less strict.” 

“I applaud @POTUS for taking strong action to stop the deadly drumbeat of gun violence in our communities,” Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., tweeted in support of Biden’s gun plan. “Now the Senate should pass legislation we’ve already passed in the House to keep the most dangerous weapons out of the hands of the most dangerous people.”

Americans also consistently expressed discontent with the state of the nation’s gun laws in recent years, according to Gallup polling data. Thirty-three percent of individuals polled this year indicated they were “very dissatisfied” with gun laws, compared to 23% who were “somewhat dissatisfied,” 22% who were “somewhat satisfied” and 20% who were “very satisfied.” 

A mass shooting is typically defined as an incident in which four or more individuals are shot with a firearm, and the Congressional Research Service adopted this definition in an April 2013 report on the issue. Under these specifications, there have been 133 mass shootings in the United States this year — seven of which occurred this month alone — according to the nonprofit research group “Gun Violence Archive.”

“The actions announced by the Biden administration today are significant steps to helping end our country’s tragic and preventable gun violence epidemic,” Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a written statement. “As the original author of the Brady Law, I have long championed the strong gun safety measures the president discussed today, including recently calling for commonsense regulation of the sale of ghost guns, and I applaud President Biden’s leadership and the administration’s efforts to take bold steps that will save lives.”