Biden Arrives In LA County To Tackle Gun Violence With Executive Order

MONTEREY PARK, CA —President Joe Biden is spending the afternoon in Los Angeles County to meet with the survivors and families of the Monterey Park Lunar New Year mass shooting and announce an executive order aimed at curbing gun violence across the nation.

The president will only be in town for a few hours. Biden, who had originally been expected to travel via helicopter to the San Gabriel Valley en route to an appearance in Monterey Park, is traveling by motorcade instead due to the weather. An exact route hasn't been announced, but motorists can anticipate rolling closures as the motorcade moves through the area. It's his first visit to Los Angeles County since mid-October.

The executive order aims to increase the number of background checks to buy guns, promote better and more secure firearms storage and ensure U.S. law enforcement agencies are getting the most out of a bipartisan gun control law enacted last summer.

The president chose to address gun violence in Monterey Park after a gunman stormed a dance hall in the community and shot 20 people, killing 11, following a Lunar New Year celebration. He's also going to meet with the families of the victims and first responders from that day.

Eleven people were killed and nine others injured during the Jan. 21 shooting at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park. After that shooting, the gunman went to the Lai Lai Ballroom and Studio in nearby Alhambra, but he was disarmed in the lobby by Brandon Tsay, whose family owns the studio.

Tsay was among the guests in first lady Jill Biden's viewing box on Feb. 7 for the president's State of the Union Address.

Biden’s rhetoric has only grown stronger around guns — he routinely calls for banning so-called assault weapons in his speeches — and Democrats didn’t push such a vocal gun-control platform even during the Obama administration, when Biden was vice president. But Biden has been emboldened by the midterms after his regular talk of gun control didn't result in massive losses, and he's expected to continue to push for strong changes as he inches toward a 2024 run, his aides say.

The executive order will instruct the attorney general to ensure that firearm sellers who are ignorant of background check requirements or ignoring them to come in compliance, according to the White House.

The order will also direct members of the Cabinet to work with local communities and law enforcement where "red flag" laws are in effect allowing residents to petition a court to determine if a person presents a public danger, allowing weapons to be temporarily removed from the person's possession.

Biden's order will also direct the departments of Transportation and Justice to work on a plan to reduce the loss or theft of firearms during shipment and bolster the reporting of such losses and thefts. According to the White House, there has been a 250% increase in the number of firearms reported lost or stolen during shipment between federally licensed firearms dealers between 2018 and 2022.

The order will also include various other provisions, including authorizing the public release of inspection records for firearms dealers cited for violating federal firearms laws; accelerating federal law enforcement reporting of ballistics data in hopes of catching shooters; improving federal support for gun violence survivors; and advancing efforts to prevent the proliferation of weapons that are undetectable by metal detectors.

Sam Paredes, executive director of Gun Owners of California, told City News Service Biden's efforts targeting guns have generally focused "on the wrong people."

"Given that the vast majority of criminal gun violence comes from a small number of repeat offenders, the focus needs to be on this subsection of society, rather than responsible and lawful gun owners," Paredes told CNS.

Paredes said Biden has "consistently demonstrated his ignorance on everything related to guns and the Second Amendment, publicly stating that the Constitution and Second Amendment were 'never absolute.' He had made a number of prior comments that citizens shouldn't be able to own popular guns that are in common use today for lawful purposes."

Biden will make his announcement about the executive order during an appearance at the Boys & Girls Club of West San Gabriel Valley..

Biden spent Monday in the San Diego area meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to discuss the Australia-United Kingdom-United States partnership known as AUKUS.

The president is expected to leave the Los Angeles area after the Monterey Park appearance.

As usual, the White House does not release specific details of the president's anticipated movements through the area, however, he is scheduled to arrive around 11:40 a.m. at Los Angeles International Airport, then fly via helicopter to San Gabriel Valley airport for the visit to Monterey Park.

Biden will depart LAX around 4:30 p.m. en route to Las Vegas for a Democratic National Committee reception.

City News Service and the Associated Press contributed to this report.