During the pandemic-filled year of 2020, with countless American businesses struggling and losing money, the United States had a record year…for gun sales. Approximately 40% of gun sales during the first four months of the coronavirus pandemic, March through June, were to first-time purchasers. Over the past 20 years, the average annual percentage of gun sales that had been first-time buyers was much lower at 24%. This data comes from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which collects information on yearly gun sales.
On Valentine’s Day, the fourth anniversary of the Parkland, Florida shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where Nickolas Cruz opened fire on and killed 17 high school students, President Joe Biden gave a speech advocating for gun control. “I am calling on Congress to enact common-sense gun law reforms, including requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers who knowingly put weapons of war on our streets. We owe it to all those we’ve lost and to all those left behind to grieve to make a change. The time to act is now.”
In February, Congress was preoccupied with former-President Trump’s impeachment trial, which put President Joe Biden’s push for gun reform temporarily on hold. President Biden promised his voters “a wholesale ban on the manufacture and sale of assault weapons; a push to roll out personalized ‘smart gun’ technology; closing various gun ownership loopholes and banning the online sale of guns and ammunition.” In case there are doubts, President Biden has a credible history in advocating for gun control during his time in Washington.
In the 1990s, then-Senator Biden advocated for two pieces of landmark legislation that were signed into law. In 1993, he voted in favor of the Brady Bill, which instituted background checks for gun purchases. In 1994, he also supported the assault weapons ban. Later as Vice President during the Obama administration, Biden “took the lead on trying to shepherd through tighter gun control laws. However, with an intransigent Republican-led Congress for three-quarters of their time in office, game-changing reforms to expand background checks and keep guns out of dangerous hands were defeated or rolled back.” For those in favor of gun control, the future looks bright. With Democrats holding a slight majority in the United States Senate, President Biden has a realistic opportunity to enact landmark gun control legislation.
