As expected, the Biden administration announced a series of Executive Actions related to “gun violence.”

Here is our breakdown. There are some not smart things here.

The Justice Department, within 30 days, will issue a proposed rule to help stop the proliferation of “ghost guns.”

We’ve talked about this, the so called proliferation of “ghost guns” in crimes seems completely made up, according to Biden’s own ATF. It has always been legal to make your own firearms, and while its indeed been made easier with modern tools readily available to regular people, there is no crime wave being caused by these. The vast majority are being made by hobbyists, legally, and legally possessed.

The problem they are trying to solve doesn’t exist.

The Justice Department, within 60 days, will issue a proposed rule to make clear when a device marketed as a stabilizing brace effectively turns a pistol into a short-barreled rifle subject to the requirements of the National Firearms Act. 

The DOJ and the ATF should not write laws. Their original approval, then reversal, of things like arm braces and bump stocks, has been consistently capricious and arbitrary. Even (especially?) under the previous administration. And like our opposition the previous administration doing it with bump stocks, this is just as stupid.

Amend the NFA if you want to amend the NFA. Arbitrarily turning millions of legal gun owners into felons seems like a really good way to spend a lot of time in court. Either that or a whole bunch of people get “free SBR tax stamps.”

We can’t see either solution surviving a court challenge.

The Justice Department, within 60 days, will publish model “red flag” legislation for states.

Red flag laws are hugely problematic. Great intentions, paved with ridiculous abuse, and when there is abuse, it’s often disproportionate.

Systemic racism loves poorly written laws.

The Administration is investing in evidence-based community violence interventions.

This is worth discussing, evidence based community violence interruption programs work. We’ve been saying it for years. If you want to reduce violence of any kind, things like Operation Ceasefire work. We’ve not seen the omnibus infrastructure bill that purportedly funds these for the details, but if its for stuff like that? We are all for it, and you should be too. Evidenced based solutions work.

The administration should consider using evidence in its approach to the other things in this set of actions.

The Justice Department will issue an annual report on firearms trafficking.

The DOJ should indeed enforce existing laws. The focus on “ghost guns” is idiotic (see above), but there SHOULD be reporting on this, just like there is supposed to be other reporting  by the DOJ to congress on gun related issues  that seems to have lost its way from the FixNICS act.

The President will nominate David Chipman to serve as Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.

Mister Chipman seems qualified, but tapping someone from a lobbying group like Giffords, is problematic at best, read his positions for yourself.  Lobbyists with agendas shouldn’t run regulatory and law enforcement agencies regardless of whose “team” they are on, and just like we didn’t want a energy lobbyist in charge of the department of the interior or a school choice lobbyist on charge of the department of education, or, frankly, the NRA in charge of the ATF.

This post has been edited to correct pre-coffee typos and punctuation and grammar mistakes.