Biden so far avoids talking gun reform post-Atlanta shooting

In the wake of Tuesday’s shootings in Atlanta, President Joe Biden has raised concerns about the spike in hate crimes against Asian Americans and tasked two senior advisers to convene listening sessions on the issue.

But he has not mentioned anything about guns or gun reform in his public remarks or tweets on the incident, even as the White House says he remains personally committed to doing more on gun safety.

The approach is different than former President Barack Obama, who raised the issue of guns in a tweet on Wednesday.

“Yesterday’s shootings are another tragic reminder that we have far more work to do to put in place commonsense gun safety laws and root out the pervasive patterns of hatred and violence in our society,” he tweeted.

During his own presidency, Obama was sometimes criticized by Republicans for raising gun control in the immediate aftermath of mass shootings, claiming it was “too soon.” But he countered that no time was more important to raise the matter than when the pain of tragedy was fresh in people’s minds.

For Biden, the Atlanta shootings have raised another critical issue — violence against Asian Americans — that he’s addressed directly, even as he said he was waiting for authorities to ascribe a motive. He will meet with Asian American community leaders when he visits the Atlanta area on Friday.

Incidents of attacks against Asian Americans have been on the rise.

But for now he has not used the incident to advance a view on gun control, which advocates and some allies in Congress are looking for him to voice as his administration gets going.

“It remains a commitment, a personal commitment of the President’s, to do more on gun safety, to put more measures in place, to use the power of the presidency, to work with Congress. And certainly there’s an important role for the Attorney General and the Justice Department to play in this regard,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Thursday. “Unfortunately don’t have any updates for you today, but it is an issue he remains committed to.”

Ultimately, gun control issues — which face an uphill battle for passage in a Senate narrowly controlled by Democrats — are further down on Biden’s list of legislative priorities than issues such as infrastructure and immigration.

As a candidate, Biden said on his first day in office he would send a bill to Congress repealing liability protection for gun manufacturers and close background check loopholes, actions he has yet to take seven weeks into office.

A Senate leadership aide said Thursday that no date has been set for when the chamber would vote on gun legislation, despite Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s promise to bring something to put on floor. It could be several weeks.

Senate Democrats have said they plan to move on new gun legislation, promising to bring a bill expanding background checks on all firearm sales to the floor for a vote, despite concerns about the House bill from Republicans and even some moderate Democrats in the Senate. The House bill on background checks would have to undergo significant changes to garner the votes needed.

One of the key sticking points from the House’s universal background check bill is that it requires background checks on private sales, something that was a red line for Republicans who backed Sens. Pat Toomey, R-Pennsylvania and Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, effort in 2013. Conservatives have traditionally opposed further restricting private sales.

The bipartisan bill only required background checks on internet and gun show sales. That bill did not require background checks on sales that happen between family members and friends. That distinction could be potentially problematic not just for getting Republican votes, but for Democratic leaders as they try to garner support even by those in their own caucus.

The House passed two pieces of legislation expanding background checks last week and despite the White House’s commitment to keep pushing for the legislation and Schumer promise to put the legislation on the floor for a vote, the lack of Republican support remains to be the obstacle.

“H.R. 8 will be on the floor of the Senate and we will see where everybody stands,” Schumer said last week of the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021, which would expand background checks for all firearm sales or transfers in the country. “No more thoughts and prayers. A vote is what we need. A vote.”

The Senate has been focused on pushing through Biden’s Cabinet nominees and has just one week left before they go on a two-week Easter break. The timeline for guns is likely going to be after that. Despite the all-but-certain failure, Democrats still want to force the issue on the floor.

“I don’t think we should accept that there aren’t 60 votes in the Senate for universal background checks,” Sen. Chris Murphy, a D-Connecticut, said last week. “So much has changed. The political power of the anti-gun violence movement is infinitely stronger, the (National Rifle Association) is a shell of itself, and so I’ve had a lot of Republican members come to me and express their willingness to take a new look.”

But unless Manchin and Toomey begin having conversations and Democratic leaders signal an openness, it is unlikely any gun bills will pass the narrowly divided US Senate.