By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Enhanced background checks have blocked thousands of gun sales to people under the age of 21 and those convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence crimes in the past year, the White House said on Sunday, a year after President Joe Biden set up a new office to accelerate work on preventing gun violence.
Homicides have dropped 17% in the period, building on the largest-ever drop in homicides in 2023, the White House said. It said data from the Gun Violence Archive showed that mass shootings were also down 20% to date in 2024 compared to a year earlier and would reach their lowest level this year since 2019.
The FBI has conducted more than 300,000 enhanced background checks of individuals under 21 required under Biden's Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, signed into law in June 2022. It denied more than 3,500 of those transactions, with the enhanced background checks alone responsible for nearly 900 blocked sales, the White House said. Background checks for those convicted of domestic violence crimes have blocked more than 4,600 sales so far this year.
Stefanie Feldman, who heads the new office, said the progress reflected a wide range of efforts, including dozens of executive actions since Biden took office, increased collaboration among federal agencies, closer work with state and local governments, and increased funding for enforcement of existing laws and mental health programs.
She told Reuters that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee in the Nov. 5 presidential election, would announce additional executive action soon.
Feldman declined to provide any details, but said the action involved some "wholly new ideas" and would take hard work to complete before Biden leaves office in January.
Gun safety has been a big focus for Biden and Harris - both of whom are gun owners - since they took office in 2021.
The U.S. surgeon general declared gun violence a public health crisis in June, calling for more research funding, better mental health access and other steps such as secure storage.
Democrats largely favor stricter gun laws as a way to reduce deaths from gun violence, while Republicans generally oppose stricter laws, citing the right to bear arms established in the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment.
Despite partisan divisions, Feldman said her office had worked well with Republican state and local elected officials, and 17 states had passed legislation to address gun violence.
The office was also working with non-elected officials, including healthcare providers and executives, law enforcement and community leaders, some of whom might identify as Republican but shared a commitment to reduce gun violence.
"The further away you get from Washington, the less political this issue actually is," she said. "Everyone wants their kid to come home from school safely. Everyone wants their kid to be able to go play in the neighborhood and be safe."