Letter to Hon. Joseph R. Biden, President - Neguse and McBath Lead House Democrats in Letter to Biden Urging Creation of Gun Violence Prevention Task Force

Letter

Dear President Biden:
We write to support the creation of an Interagency Task Force on Gun Violence Prevention and ask that you appoint a National Director of Gun Violence Prevention to chair this Task Force. This will allow for a more coordinated, whole of government approach to bring our nation out from under the depths of the gun violence crisis.
We appreciate the steps your Administration is taking to address gun violence, especially the six executive actions you announced in the Rose Garden on ghost guns, stabilizing braces, extreme risk protective orders, community violence intervention programs, firearm trafficking and bolstering the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco. On the anniversary of these important executive actions, we can take further steps to mitigate gun violence in this country.
Federal efforts to combat gun violence, including research on the impacts and causes of gun violence and law enforcement efforts to combat it, are currently siloed across agencies. Appointing a National Director of Gun Violence Prevention will ensure that agencies--including the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco (ATF), Department of Justice (DOJ), Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)--are working collaboratively, disseminating critical data and coordinating shared goals to create an effective, whole of government approach. We ask that this new National Director of Gun Violence Prevention report directly to the Office of the President with the goal of reducing firearm deaths and injuries by at least 50% over the next ten years.
We also respectfully request that the National Director of Gun Violence Prevention chair an Interagency Task Force on Gun Violence Prevention. This Task Force should formally bring together stakeholders who specialize in gun violence research and prevention to educate Americans on gun violence prevention best practices, and engage with experts, community organizations, health care providers, and Members of Congress to address the intersections of gun violence.
Every year, nearly 40,000 people are killed with guns in our nation and thousands more are injured, with disproportionate shares of this violence falling on communities of color.1 In 2020 alone, over 45,000 people needlessly lost their lives due to gun violence, a 14% increase from 2019.2 Despite these startling numbers, gun sales show no signs of slowing. In 2021, Americans bought roughly 19.9 million firearms, the industry's second-busiest year on record.3 As gun ownership continues to soar to record levels, we fear that this violence shows no signs of abating.
We applaud each of the steps you have already taken to combat gun violence and ask that you give strong and immediate consideration to appointing a National Director of Gun Violence Prevention and creating an Interagency Task Force on Gun Violence Prevention. We look forward to partnering with you in this work, and greatly appreciate your consideration of these requests.