Joe Biden Is Taking Historic Action to Fight Gun Violence. Trump Put the Gun Lobby Over Our Kids’ Safety
We have a gun violence epidemic in this country, but at every turn, Donald Trump has caved to the NRA and sold out our kids’ and communities’ safety. As president, Trump made the gun epidemic worse by standing in the way of common sense gun reform, and when confronted with horrific gun violence, he tells survivors to “get over it.”
Meanwhile, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have taken on the NRA to make our communities safer.
President Biden has also taken more meaningful executive action than any other president to make our schools, churches, grocery stores, and communities safer, including:
- Established the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention,
- Signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act – the most significant federal bipartisan gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years,
- Combated deadly, nearly untraceable ghost guns,
- Closed loopholes in the gun background check system.
These actions keep especially dangerous weapons out of dangerous hands and hold law-breaking gun dealers and gun traffickers accountable. They have also provided law enforcement with the tools and resources they need to reduce gun violence and address its root causes. Homicides increased 20% under Donald Trump and, so far, have dropped 12% under Joe Biden.
Donald Trump has made it crystal clear who he’s running to serve; when confronted with horrific gun violence, he tells survivors to “get over it,” and at every turn, he has done exactly what the NRA commands him to do. We owe it to the victims of gun violence, their families, and the future of our country to continue to fight for a future without senseless gun violence.
As president, what did Donald Trump do to prevent gun violence?
As president, Donald Trump made the gun epidemic worse by standing in the way of common sense gun reform and making it easier for guns to end up in the wrong hands.
- He oversaw the largest increase in gun violence in modern history.
- He attempted to cut billions in funding for police to combat gun crime.
- He promised to block bipartisan bills with common-sense gun safety measures.
- He refused to support proven-effective policies like a federal assault weapons ban.
- He rolled back a regulation designed to keep guns out of dangerous hands.
What are Donald Trump’s plans for gun violence prevention if he is reelected to a second term?
Trump is running for reelection on an agenda that would not only fail to tackle gun violence in our communities—it would make us less safe:
- He’s supporting national concealed carry reciprocity legislation that would force each state to recognize the gun laws of other states, allowing violent offenders to carry hidden, loaded handguns in public.
- He’s encouraging concealed carry to put more guns in our kids’ classrooms.
- He’s promising to roll back Joe Biden’s bipartisan, effective gun safety measures.
Trump’s agenda is not only dangerous—it’s also wildly out of step with Americans. A vast majority of Americans—including independents and gun owners—agree with commonsense actions to reduce gun violence. Donald Trump will block all of them.
Has Joe Biden passed any legislation that addresses the gun violence epidemic?
Yes! Joe Biden signed the most significant federal bipartisan gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years: the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. The historic legislation:
- Improves the background check system by broadening the definition of who must become a licensed gun dealer and run background checks before selling firearms.
- Establishes enhanced background checks for buyers under the age of 21.
- Establishes federal criminal offenses for straw purchasing and trafficking guns. As a result, the Department of Justice has already charged hundreds of defendants for violating these provisions and kept hundreds of firearms out of potentially dangerous hands in connection with those cases.
- Addresses dating violence by partially closing the “boyfriend loophole.”
- Supports the implementation of extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs) and other crisis intervention services.
- Expands community violence intervention programs.
- Provides over $1 billion in funding to increase mental health services in communities, expand school-based mental health services, expand and strengthen the mental health workforce, and improve mental health crisis services.
What more can be done to address gun violence?
Joe Biden beat the NRA to pass the first major gun safety legislation in 30 years, but he knows there is more to do. That’s why he is fighting for universal background checks and to pass a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
Donald Trump puts the gun lobby ahead of our kids, and if reelected, he will make our communities less safe by standing in the way of common sense gun reform and making it easier for criminals to carry guns.
Does Joe Biden want to take away Americans’ Second Amendment right to bear arms?
No. Absolutely not. The Biden-Harris Administration’s work on gun violence prevention has never been about taking away anyone’s rights. It’s about protecting children. It’s about protecting families. It’s about protecting whole communities. It’s about protecting our freedoms to go to school, to a grocery store, and to a church without being shot and killed. Creating a safer America without infringing on the rights of law-abiding gun owners is possible.
Did Donald Trump really tell the victims of gun violence they need to “get over it?”
Yes, he did. See it for yourself.