Gun controls are back on Joe Biden’s radar, with the president set to announce this followingnoon restrictions on so-called ghost gunsthose made from kits and without serial numbers, thus rendering them untraceable.
A number of gun law activists have been invited to attend the Rose Garden event at the White House, including victims’ parents from the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas massacre in Parkland, Florida, the worst high school shooting in the US with 17 students and staff killed.
One of the activists, Manuel Oliverwhose 17-year-old son Joaquin was among the victims, has grown increasingly impatient in recent months over a perceived lack of action by Biden, who campaigned for the White House partly on a promise of gun reforms.
He and his wife Patricia, Joaquin’s mother, have toured the country using drama and urban art to highlight gun deaths and promote their call for meaningful reforms.
Manuel Oliver
(@manueloliver00)The graphic evidence shows the social value of Guac’s disruptive behavior. See you tomorrow, @POTUS and thanks for the invitation. Viva Guac! @ChangeTheRef @patriciapadauy @GunsDownAmerica @ AMarch4OurLives pic.twitter.com/qzm7hachKh
Oliver was arrested in Washington DC in February on the fourth anniversary of his son’s death, climbing a crane and unfurling a banner directed at Biden reading: “45k died from gun violence on your watch.”
That figure is now above 54,000, according to the website shockmarket.orgwhich tallies gun deaths in the US since Biden took office.
“See you tomorrow Potus, and thanks for the invitation,” Oliver tweeted on Sundaycrediting “Guac”, his son’s nickname, for helping prompt Biden towards action.
The president will also introduce Steve Dettelbacha former justice department prosecutor, as his nominee for director of the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives (ATF)
Read more regarding today’s announcement here:
