LOUISVILLE, Ky. — According to Pres. Joe Biden, gun violence in America is a “public health crisis” and “epidemic”. Thursday, he unveiled six actions to address the issues.
Pres. Biden ordered the Department of Justice to propose rules on ghost guns, red flag laws and regulating stabilizing braces.
A change Crestwood gun range CEO, Barry Laws is not in favor of.
“It’s all stupid theater and it's really annoying," said Laws. He added, "As a gun safety facility, everything we’re about is gun safety. Who’s talked to me? We’re the experts. Who has talked to us? Something as stupid as taking something that helps you shoot better and more accurately and making that illegal, it’s insane.”
The President then said the gun violence in this country is an “international embarrassment.”
Activist Christopher 2X who also runs the nonprofit Game Changers agrees with Biden.
“Young individuals and I'm talking about children, don't have to get directly hit by the bullet," Christopher 2X said. He went on to say, "They can be indirectly impacted by gunfire that goes off in neighborhoods. You don't have to go nationwide to find out what the suffering is about, here in Metro Louisville so many kids that I've seen over a 20-year span have suffered from this reckless gun violence.
Laws also questions Biden's nomination of David Chipman to be the director of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Chipman served 25 years with ATF, the agency that plays a key role in gun regulations.
“We’re where the rubber meets the road when selling a gun," said Laws. He continued by saying, "Our relationship with the ATF is really good, I believe, and to corrupt that with someone who is going to try and catch us instead of helping us do good business, going to catch us in a mistake is really off-putting."
Along with the six items, Biden has also called on the Senate to pass three bills that have cleared the house.
These include closing loopholes for background checks at gun shows and online, giving the FBI more time to look into background checks, and reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
Christopher 2X believes the reauthorization of VAWA is crucial.
“At the end of the day, I’m big on women and children. I think it's distasteful when somebody lashes out in such a violent way with a gun or not a gun against women and children.," said Christopher 2X. He added, "So the mere fact that if you do something like that you should pay severe consequences.”
The Biden administration also plans to make new investments in intervention programs to reduce gun violence.