Joe Biden to impose measures to limit weapons in the US

The president of the United States, Joe Biden, announces measures to limit the arms in the country pressured by the recent shootings in Atlanta and Colorado, as well as the inaction of the Congress.

Among the initiatives that Biden will announce at an event at the White House stands out one that seeks to curb the proliferation of homemade weapons, known as “ghost guns,” according to the White House in a call with journalists.

Ghost guns allow, from kits with parts, to assemble weapons in about half an hour that are difficult for the authorities to trace since they lack a serial number.

“Police officers in cities across the country are reporting a growing problem. Criminals buy kits that contain almost all the components and instructions to make a weapon in just 30 minutes. And they are using these weapons to commit crimes,” he explained in the called an official.

In Thursday’s move, Biden will order the Justice Department to present a plan within 30 days to help curb the proliferation of these types of weapons.

The president will also order the Department of Justice to regulate devices called “arm braces” that, when coupled, convert handguns into rifles, making them much more accurate.

The perpetrator of the Colorado supermarket shooting that left 10 dead two weeks ago used one of these devices in his massacre, in which there were no survivors.

Biden also plans to nominate David Chipman as the new head of the Agency for Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), a former agent who in recent years has defended the regulation of weapons from the private sector. .

Chipman’s eventual confirmation will depend on the Senate, where the weapons debate arouses passions and where Democrats hold a very fragile majority. Furthermore, the Senate has not authorized the appointment of any chief to the ATF since 2013.

Biden will promote three other measures, one aimed at promoting that states allow judges to restrict access to weapons to certain people; the drafting of a report on arms trafficking; and financing programs to reduce gun violence in urban settings.

Biden will adopt these low-key measures while he waits for Congress to act more broadly, although Republicans in the Senate have blocked most of the Democratic legislative agenda, including gun control measures.