President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Tuesday that will ramp up the number of background checks conducted before gun sales.
The administration is touting the measure as bringing the U.S. as close as possible to universal background checks without Congress passing additional legislation, which would be unlikely given the stalemate on the issue in Congress.
"Again and again, [Biden] has called for Congress to act, including by banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, requiring background checks for all gun sales, requiring safe storage of firearms, closing the dating violence restraining order loophole, and repealing gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability," the White House said.
The order also calls on Congress to encourage greater use of so-called "red flag" laws, which allows members of the community to petition a court to determine whether an individual is dangerous and should be legally denied access to firearms.
The administration stressed that these laws are only effective when the public is aware of their existence and knows how to use them. Currently, 19 states and the District of Columbia have red flag laws on the books.
Finally, the White House is urging the Federal Trade Commission to issue a public report investigating whether and how gun manufacturers market firearms to minors.
Biden signed the order in Monterey Park, California, where a gunman recently killed 11 people and injured nine others.
Read the full executive order here.
Updated March 14, 2023 at 4:55 p.m. ET after Biden signed the executive order.
Goodbye Summer, Texas Abortion Law & Remembering Michael K. Williams
Cheddar News' Michelle Castillo spoke to former Kipp alumni and Kipp Affirm Middle School principal Dominique Mejia about the precautions it is taking to keep everyone healthy and why it was so important to return back to in-person instruction.
America’s employers added just 235,000 jobs in August, a modest gain after two months of robust hiring at a time when the delta variant’s spread has discouraged some people from flying, shopping and eating out.
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to 340,000, a pandemic low, another sign that the job market is steadily rebounding from the economic collapse caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
A group of Democratic senators quietly put forth a bill that could reshape domestic manufacturing in the United States.
The nation’s most far-reaching curb on abortions has taken effect in Texas, with the Supreme Court silent so far on an emergency appeal to put the law on hold.
Cheddar asked its Gen Z and Millennial-aged Facebook and Instagram users about several topics including how they use social media, buying cryptocurrency, and the future job market.
Social Security and Medicare, the government’s two biggest benefit programs, remain under intense financial pressure with the retirement of millions of baby boomers and a devastating pandemic putting increased pressures on the two programs’ finances.
The speed limit for most of Paris is now 30 kilometers per hour (less than 19 miles per hour). The new rule takes effect Monday almost everywhere in the city except for a few wide avenues like the Champs-Elysees and the bypass circling the capital.
Cheddar's Chloe Aiello reports on Queens residents who mostly are voicing support for keeping the Open Streets program in New York City even after the pandemic.
