Reports: Biden to Announce WH ‘Office of Gun Violence Prevention’

The Washington Post is reporting that the White House will announce on Friday the creation of an “Office of Gun Violence Prevention,” which will reportedly involve representatives from gun control lobbying groups and be led by White House Staff Secretary Stefanie Feldman, described as “a longtime Biden aide with expertise on firearms issues.”

According to The Hill, “gun violence prevention advocates” and Democrat lawmakers have been lobbying the Biden White House to create such an office. Anti-gun Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) reportedly issued a statement: “This is an idea I have been pushing relentlessly for some time, and I’m thrilled President Biden is making the Office of Gun Violence Prevention a reality.” Fox News noted Wednesday, “The creation of a new office of gun violence prevention serves the dual purpose of contrasting the president’s agenda with the Republican-controlled House and pleasing a key constituency group as Biden ramps up his 2024 re-election campaign.” Biden campaigned in 2020 with a sweeping gun control agenda which included banning modern semiautomatic rifles, requiring so-called “universal background checks,” and more restrictions on law-abiding gun owners, which grassroots activists consider infringements on their Second Amendment rights. According to Politico, “Greg Jackson, executive director of the Community Justice Action Fund, and Rob Wilcox, the senior director for federal government affairs at Everytown for Gun Safety, are expected to hold key roles in the office alongside Feldman.” Traditionally, “gun violence prevention” translates to gun control. There is no indication that this effort will involve any representatives from the firearms community, either industry or Second Amendment groups. The announcement comes in the wake of a gun control debacle in New Mexico, where Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham ignited a fury by announcing a ban on open and concealed carry in Albuquerque and surrounding Bernalillo County. She was quickly named the defendant in several federal lawsuits by gun rights organizations, and she also was heavily criticized by members of her own party for pushing the ban and violating the Second Amendment in the process. A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order when the lawsuits were consolidated for court review. Gov. Lujan Grisham eventually backed away from her original order, but still is trying to prohibit legal carry of firearms in parks and other venues where children might be present.