President Joe Biden promised on the campaign trail that he would take action on gun control, and he announced in mid-February that his intentions had not changed.
Biden released a statement on Feb. 14 — the third anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting in Parkland, Florida — calling on Congress to pass a number of new gun control measures. (RELATED: ‘This Administration Will Not Wait’: Biden Pushes Gun Control On Parkland Shooting Anniversary)
Biden Pushes Gun Control On Parkland Shooting Anniversaryhttps://t.co/Otl81oanDs
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) February 15, 2021
Among the specific measures Biden asked for were an assault weapons ban, a ban on high-capacity magazines and universal background checks. He also suggested that gun manufacturers should not be immune from prosecution.
President Biden, three years after to the day after the Parkland shooting, calls on Congress to pass new gun control measures including universal background checks, a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and an end to immunity for gun makers in certain cases. pic.twitter.com/AlzEyrjoJj
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) February 14, 2021
Just two days later, White House press secretary Jen Psaki made it clear that Biden considered gun control legislation to be a priority for his administration.
Psaki: Gun control a ‘priority,’ Biden ‘not afraid of standing up’ to the NRAhttps://t.co/IWCZ1hoamw
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 16, 2021
Psaki stopped short of saying that Biden would take executive action on the issue, saying instead that he looked forward to “taking on the NRA” as he had in the past.
Will the president take a legislative approach or executive action to addressing gun control? @PressSec repeats campaign line about Biden taking on the NRA twice, says “he is happy and eager to do that in the future.”
Doesn’t give any details.
— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) February 11, 2021
The one person missing from Biden’s gun control agenda thus far is former Democratic Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke — who Biden had tapped during the campaign to help him take on the gun issue.
The day O’Rourke dropped out of the Democratic presidential primary and endorsed the former Vice President, Biden brought him up to the rally stage and announced that he wanted O’Rourke front and center to help “take care of the gun problem.”
Joe Biden says Beto “Hell Yes, We’re Going to Take Your AR-15” O’Rourke will “take care of the gun problem” for him.
Don’t be fooled: Joe Biden isn’t any less radical than the rest of them. pic.twitter.com/tVpGCMmy9n
— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) March 3, 2020
But since Biden’s inauguration, little mention has been made of the former Texas legislator — and Psaki confirmed that O’Rourke “doesn’t have any official role” at this time.
.@JoeBiden appears to have snubbed @BetoORourke
“He doesn’t have any official role,”@PressSec says.https://t.co/dr6nLihvYM
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) February 16, 2021