Everytown, Moms Demand Action Applaud President Biden’s Highlighting Gun Violence Prevention In State of the Union Address

This evening, President Joe Biden highlighted background checks, repealing the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, and other commonsense, life saving measures in the State of the Union Address. This builds on prior commitments of the Biden-Harris Administration to make our communities safer and reduce gun crime. 

In response to President Biden’s comments, Everytown and Moms Demand Action issued the following statements:

“During his first year in office, President Biden has led the strongest gun safety administration we’ve seen, and this speech is further proof that he remains fully committed to keeping Americans safe from gun violence,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “Going forward, there are more critical steps the administration and Congress can take to save lives — including revitalizing ATF, using executive powers to crack down on unlicensed gun sellers, and strengthening background checks — and we look forward to working with them every step of the way.” 

“President Biden showed the leadership we need to unify our country and save lives,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action. “As a candidate, Joe Biden ran on the strongest gun safety platform in history and his Administration continues to follow through on that promise. While there’s always more to be done to end the gun violence epidemic in this country, including through congressional action, our grassroots army of volunteers continues to stand proudly in support of President Biden.”

The Biden-Harris Administration has been the strongest gun safety administration in American history. From President Biden’s historic executive actions to address gun violence, his long record of taking on the NRA and passing life-saving laws, Vice President Kamala Harris’ years of gun safety advocacy, and the unmatched gun sense cabinet they have built, they have demonstrated a deep commitment to gun safety. President Biden has prioritized gun safety since entering office, from combating deadly, untraceable ghost guns, to the Department of Justice’s development of a strategy on reducing violent crime and a new, annual comprehensive report on firearms trafficking, to the new comprehensive strategy to address gun violence that includes efforts to fight gun trafficking, investments in community violence intervention programs, and more. 

Additionally, in November, the Biden-Harris Administration announced slate of executive actions aimed at promoting secure storage to reduce firearm suicide. The executive actions came on the heels of a detailed list of recommendations Everytown sent the Biden-Harris Administration of actions it could take to help prevent suicide among Americans and promote secure storage, a number of which were included in the White House rollout.