President Joe Biden is set to sign a bill that would designate Pulse nightclub a national memorial after dozens were killed there by a gunman in 2016.
Biden called the Orlando, Florida, business “hallowed ground” where the “deadliest attack affecting the LGBTQ+ community in American history” took place in a Saturday announcement.
“Over the years, I have stayed in touch with families of the [Pulse] victims and with the survivors who have turned their pain into purpose, and who remind us that we must do more than remember victims of gun violence and all of the survivors, family members, and friends left behind; we must act,” Biden said in the statement. “In the coming days, I will sign a bill designating Pulse Nightclub as a national memorial, enshrining in law what has been true since that terrible day five years ago: Pulse Nightclub is hallowed ground.”
DOJ CRAFTS MODEL RED FLAG LEGISLATION FOR STATES AND MAY REQUIRE REGISTRATION FOR CERTAIN GUNS
On June 12, 2016, Omar Mateen, who told 911 dispatchers he swore allegiance to the Islamic State, opened fire on the nightclub, killing 49 and injuring dozens, before he was shot dead by responding officers.
In Saturday’s statement, the president took the time to advocate for gun control, including expanding background checks and banning so-called “assault weapons.”
“It is long past time we close the loopholes that allow gun buyers to bypass background checks in this country, and the Senate should start by passing the three House-passed bills which would do exactly that,” he said. “It is long past time we ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines, establish extreme risk protection orders, also known as ‘red flag’ laws, and eliminate gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability.”
On the five-year anniversary of the shooting, Biden met with LGBT leaders and gun control advocates, alongside domestic policy adviser Susan Rice.
In April, Biden issued a gun control executive order that mandated the Justice Department craft red flag legislation, which allows local law enforcement to seize guns from those deemed a threat to themselves or others, and order the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to reclassify certain rifle-style pistols, among other proposals, drawing criticism from firearm owners.
Last week, the DOJ moved forward with the directives and alerted the public to a possible ATF rule change that would alter the definition of a rifle-style pistol “when individuals use accessories to convert pistols into short-barreled rifles.” The change from pistol to short-barreled rifle likely will require gun owners to register their weapons under the National Firearms Act. The NFA tightly regulates short-barreled rifles, which are long guns with a barrel length shorter than 16 inches.
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In order to buy one, a person must register that firearm with the ATF and pay a $200 tax. Gun manufacturers for years have been selling guns that have barrel lengths shorter than 16 inches, but they are equipped with pistol braces, which allow a shooter to stabilize his or her arm while firing, making the gun a handgun in the eyes of the ATF. This helps to avoid the registration hassle and fee to obtain a similar firearm.
The DOJ called the rifle-style pistols “dangerous and easily concealable weapons” and said the “department issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would make clear that the statutory restrictions on short-barreled rifles apply to pistols that are equipped with certain stabilizing braces and intended to be fired from the shoulder.”
