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Transcript/Script((HUB BRIEF SLUG: US Gun Violence TV
HEADLINE: Biden Strengthens Background Checks on Guns
TEASER: Remarks delivered at Monterey Park, California, where a mass shooting in January killed 11 and injured nine others
PUBLISHED AT: Wednesday, 03/15/2023 at 00:01
BYLINE: Patsy Widakuswara
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER:
PRODUCER: Kim weeks
SCRIPT EDITORS: MCY, Holly Franko
VIDEO SOURCES: AFP, AP, Reuters
PLATFORMS: WEB _x_ TV _x_ RADIO _x_
TRT: 2:30
VID APPROVED BY: pcd
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: There are also web and radio))
((INTRO: ))
[[U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday issued an executive order directing federal agencies to step up enforcement of a bipartisan gun control law he signed nine months ago that expands background checks for gun buyers and strengthens rules allowing the temporary removal of firearms from a potentially dangerous person. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report.]]
((NARRATOR))
Just two months ago a shooter opened fire in a dance hall during a Lunar New Year celebration, killing 11 people and injuring nine others.
((President Joe Biden))
“A tragedy that has pierced the soul of this nation, here in Monterey Park, San Gabriel Valley, the heart of the Asian American community.”
((NARRATOR))
That’s where Biden took his latest efforts to curb gun violence,
issuing an executive order to bolster the bipartisan gun control law he signed nine months ago that expands background checks for buyers under age 21 and cracks down on interstate gun trafficking.
((President Joe Biden))
“My executive order directs my attorney general to take every lawful action possible to move us as close as we can to universal background checks without new legislation.”
((NARRATOR))
Gun control advocates welcomed Biden’s order.
[[Radio track: Mark Collins, director of federal policy at the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, via Skype]]
((Mark Collins, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence)) ((Skype))
“This will take the predominantly large portion of people who are selling arms for profit and force them to make that decision – whether or not they want to continue to sell guns or whether or not they want to become a licensed dealer and sell guns with background checks.”
((NARRATOR))
The Safer Communities Act passed last year also sets aside federal funding for states to create and implement so-called red flag laws that prevent convicted domestic abusers from buying firearms and provides more federal funding for violence intervention programs and mental health services.
Biden is pushing for more congressional action, including reenacting the ban on assault weapons and eliminating legislation that shields the firearms industry from lawsuits. Observers say it signals a shift in U.S. gun politics.
[[Radio track: Matt Lacombe, associate professor of American Politics at Case Western Reserve University, via Skype]]
((Matt Lacombe, Case Western Reserve University)) ((Skype))
“The gun safety movement itself is doing a much better job at pushing Democratic allies to take action on this issue. And I think the other is the diminishing power of the ((gun lobby)) National Rifle Association, which is not as scary to Democratic politicians as it used to be.”
((NARRATOR))
With slim prospects of additional gun legislation under the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, activists say Biden should take more executive actions. Including appointing a point person to coordinate federal responses to gun violence and directing the federal agency in charge of overseeing federal firearms licenses to revoke licenses of repeat offenders.
The U.S. has some of the weakest gun laws compared with other industrialized nations and the most guns in the world – 390 million or 1.2 guns per capita.
((Patsy Widakuswara, VOA News, Washington))
NewsML Media TopicsCrime, Law and Justice
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Washington
Embargo DateMarch 15, 2023 00:13 EDT
BylinePatsy Widakuswara
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English