President Biden is expected to announce executive actions on guns on Thursday, the White House confirmed.
Mr. Biden will direct the administration to start a process of requiring buyers of so-called “ghost” guns — homemade firearms that can’t be traced because they lack serial numbers — to undergo background checks, Politico reported, citing four people familiar with the plan. The president is expected to be joined at the event by Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Other possible actions by the president on guns are unclear. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Mr. Biden would have “more to say” on the topic on Thursday.
Democratic lawmakers are pressing Mr. Biden to take action on assault-style firearms, pressure that is rising in the wake of several high-profile mass shootings in recent weeks.
Sen. Tom Cotton, Arkansas Republican, said on Twitter of the president’s anticipated action, “President Biden wants to let violent criminals go free but take guns from law-abiding citizens.”
After a mass shooting at a grocery store in Colorado last month, Mr. Biden said, “I don’t need to wait another minute, let alone an hour, to take common-sense steps that will save lives in the future.”
The planned action on ghost guns is expected to classify them as firearms, which would require a background check.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has said more than 30% of the illegal weapons confiscated in California last year had no serial numbers and were untraceable.
The attorneys general of the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia last December supported a federal lawsuit with other states seeking to have ATF regulate the sale of parts of the homemade guns as firearms to curb their increasing use.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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