"Remember the next time that a mass shooting happens"
Jon Queally for Common Dreams
Trump's order tasks U.S.
Attorney General Pam Bondi with conducting a sweeping review of the policies
and positions of the previous administration and Justice Department as it
relates to gun policies, including any executive orders issued by President Joe
Biden during his term and the DOJ's positions taken on "all ongoing and
potential litigation" related to firearms.
"On the chopping block," reportsThe Trace,
"are several high-profile attempts by [Biden] to reduce gun violence,
including regulations on ghost guns, expanded background checks on gun sales,
and tougher regulatory oversight of lawbreaking gun dealers."
"Trump's priorities couldn't be more clear. Spoiler: it's not protecting kids."
According to the outlet, which focuses on the nation's gun
violence crisis:
While most of Biden’s policies have taken effect, lawsuits
against them are ongoing. In his executive order, Trump directed the attorney
general to also review the Justice Department’s decision to defend those
regulations, as well as all other gun-related litigation in which the
government is involved. From age limits on firearm sales to the ban on gun
possession by people convicted of felonies, federal gun laws have been under
constant threat in the courts since a 2022 Supreme Court decision dramatically
expanded gun rights.
If the Justice Department declines to defend the current federal laws in court,
it would significantly raise the chances of them being ruled unconstitutional.
Gun control advocates widely rebuked the executive order,
warning that Trump's reversal of the minimal amount of progress Biden was able
to make was an endorsement of more death, pain, and suffering for the American
people, including children, who too often find themselves at the deadly end of
a gun's barrel.
"Trump's priorities couldn't be more clear. Spoiler:
it's not protecting kids," said Natalie Fall, March For Our Lives
executive director. "Gun deaths finally went down last year, and Trump
just moved to undo the rules and laws that helped make that happen."
Trump's right-wing MAGA movement, she continued, "loves
to rage about 'keeping kids safe,' but it’s all a smokescreen. They don’t care
about what is actually killing and maiming thousands of American kids every
year: gun violence. He is going to get Americans killed in his thirst for
vengeance and eagerness to please the gun lobby and rally armed extremists.
Remember, the next time that a mass shooting happens, Trump did everything in
his power to enable it, not prevent it."
Hudson Munoz, executive director of the advocacy group Guns
Down America, shared similar sentiments and said the president's latest order
"is as reckless as it is predictable."
Not for the first time, he argued, Trump is "proving
that he cares more about appeasing the gun industry than protecting the
American people. This order is downright dangerous. His incompetence and
Attorney General Pam Bondi's blind loyalty to the Trump agenda will lead to
more violence while a few shareholders and gun industry executives line their
pockets."
Referencing public polls, Munoz said more than 70% of people
in the U.S. approve of common-sense gun safety laws that Trump and the gun
lobby are attempting to destroy.
"Make no mistake, this executive order is about
business," he said. "Trump is working to unleash more guns into
American public life to boost the profits of gun manufacturers. This order
leaves Americans to foot the bill with more gun deaths, more taxpayer dollars
spent on emergency responses, and more families shattered by violence—while a
handful of businesses cash in."
