Major gun safety groups endorse Biden reelection bid

A slew of major anti-gun violence groups are throwing their weight behind President Biden’s reelection bid, his campaign announced Thursday.

Brady, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, Community Justice Action Fund and Giffords are all endorsing Biden’s 2024 campaign, a nod to the president’s focus on preventing gun violence.

“With these groups’ resources and organizing power, we will be able to mobilize the overwhelming majority of Americans, especially young Americans, who demand federal action on preventing gun violence in November 2024,” Julie Chávez Rodriguez, Biden’s campaign manager, said in a statement.

The White House has repeatedly touted its actions to try to curb the epidemic of gun violence in the U.S., even as mass shootings have remained a regular part of the news cycle.

Biden in 2022 signed bipartisan legislation that included enhanced background checks for gun purchasers between the ages of 18 and 21, made obtaining firearms through straw purchases or trafficking a federal offense and clarified the definition of a federally licensed firearm dealer.

He has signed an executive order to reduce the use of ghost guns, which are more difficult to trace, as well as an order intended to increase the number of background checks conducted before gun sales. That order also cracks down on firearms dealers who violate federal law.

Biden has also repeatedly called on Congress to take additional action, including by renewing a ban on assault weapons.

The endorsement of major gun safety groups does not come as a surprise given the stark divide between Democrats and Republicans on the issue of gun violence. GOP presidential candidates have embraced protecting Second Amendment rights, and candidates like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) have backed concealed carry laws that loosen restrictions.

“The Biden-Harris Administration is working tirelessly every day to prevent gun violence. President Biden has been the strongest gun safety president in US history, from signing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law to regulating ghost guns and stabilizing braces,” said former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), founder of the anti-gun violence group bearing her name, in a statement.