- May 1, 2025
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When President Joe Biden landed in Southern California Monday as part of a two-day swing through the region, he stepped foot in a state deemed to have the greatest gun safety laws in the country.
But Biden is visiting Monterey Park today, almost exactly two months after a shooter eliminated 11 people at a dance studio. There, Biden will reveal his condolences and support to a community still reeling from the attack and will tout a new executive order his administration states will decrease weapon violence.
The executive order, unveiled Tuesday, March 14, instructs the attorney general to make sure gun sellers are conducting background checks as required under law and clarify just who can be "engaged in the service" of dealing guns. President Biden will visit the San Gabriel Valley community of Monterey Park on Tuesday to go over efforts to lower weapon violence.
In addition, Biden's executive order seeks to enhance federal support for households, first responders and neighborhoods after a mass shooting. Pointing to FEMA actions to natural disasters, senior administration officials stated Biden wants to see greater coordination amongst federal firms to provide long-term and brief aid, such as psychological health or funds, to neighborhoods facing mass shootings.
" The reality is that our kids are suffering, and I understand it may not remain in our lifetime, but we must do something to get rid of simply how simple and available these weapons are to our kids and to people who shouldn't have guns," said state Sen. Susan Rubio, D-Baldwin Park.
California has actually been "very aggressive in attempting to pass legislation that safeguards Californians," Rubio stated, adding that she hopes the federal government is "on the same page to find the urgency and desire to pass practical gun reform.".
President Joe Biden meets Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Naval Base Point Loma, Monday, March 13, 2023, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci).
In Monterey Park, the shooter utilized a semi-automatic handgun that was bought in Monterey Park but not registered in California, authorities stated. Private investigators discovered hundreds of rounds of ammunition and items authorities believe were being utilized to make homemade gun suppressors at the shooter's house, authorities stated.
On Monday, just a day ahead of the president's visit, hundreds of activists with Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action collected at the State Capitol to require increased gun safety measures.
" The young people, honestly, they're traumatized," stated Sen. Anthony Portantino, D-Burbank. He just recently signed up with Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta last month to promote a ban on guns in public places, like churches, banks, parks and town libraries, among others.
" California is leading the nation on gun control, and it's working," Portantino said. "But does that mean every tragedy will be averted? Obviously not. Does that mean we have more to do? Yes.".
California has a credibility amongst weapon control supporters of having the strongest gun safety laws in the U.S. And while mass shootings, like the disaster in Monterey Park, gather more attention than gun-related murders or suicides, research study reveals California has a lower firearm mortality rate than other states with more lax gun control laws.
Republicans, too, filed bills this year implied to increase penalties for individuals who utilize or have ghost weapons (guns without a valid serial number) while committing a criminal offense or to permit a judge to release longer jail sentences for somebody founded guilty of a felony with a firearm. However both expenses, currently, don't seem to have an effective path forward in the legislature this year.
" Certainly what we need to be doing is focusing on behavior instead of simply focusing on instrumentality," said Palmdale Assemblymember Tom Lackey, a 28-year veteran of the California Highway Patrol and Assembly Republican Caucus chair. "One of the things we need to advise individuals is habits does matter.".
" When you have incorrect behavior that takes lives, injuries lives or threatens other people, there needs to be action taken," Lackey stated.
He urged the federal government to take a "more balanced approach" when it pertains to gun control legislation, saying the Second Amendment is clear regarding who ought to own firearms.
" Responsible people require to can bear arms, however careless people require to be reconsidered due to the fact that they've self-excluded themselves from that particular right," Lackey said. "More of these laws need to be focused on self-exclusion, not on the responsible people, and I do not think the federal government concurs with that basic property.".
Last year, after a shooter eliminated 19 grade school trainees and two instructors in Uvalde, Texas, Biden signed a sweeping, bipartisan gun control expense into law that increased background checks for young gun buyers and supported warning laws, suggested to keep weapons out away from people considered to be a danger to themselves or others.
Biden stated then: "Time is of the essence. Lives will be conserved.".
In Monterey Park today, a community still in grieving will hear what the president plans to do next.
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