‘The new office would help people see gun violence as a public health issue, rather than a political one,’ says doctor. 

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By Priscilla Chan / Contributor || Edited by Caleb Nelson

On Sept. 22, 2023, Biden and Harris implemented the unprecedented White House Office of Gun Violence Protection as a response to gun violence.

The White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention was announced by President Joe Biden during ain the White House Rose Garden six months ago, in an effort to combat the national epidemic of gun violence through direct executive action.  

At the end of 2023, the total number of deaths from gun violence reached 42,888 with 654 mass shootings, as reported by the Gun Violence Archive. 

According to the White House, the goal of implementing this bipartisan office is to ban assault weapons especially high-capacity magazines, require safe storage for firearms, background checks for all gun sales, and eliminate gun maufacturers from liability. As part of the Safe American Plan, it will also uphold police officers accountable and further educate them on gun violence.  

The  office is overseen by Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been advocating for gun safety measures since the beginning of her career as a Californian prosecutor.  

According to Harris, around 120 Americans are killed by a gun every day, being Black Americans 10 times more likely than white Americans to be victims of gun violence, while Latino Americans are twice as likely.   

“We will use the full power of the federal government to strengthen the coalition of survivors and advocates and students and teachers and elected leaders, to save lives and fight for the right of all people to be safe from fear,” said Harris. 

The policy advisor to the president, Stefanie Feldman, serves as Director of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, joined by Deputy Directors Greg Jackson and Rob Wilcox, both leading gun violence prevention advocates.  

Following the recent shooting at the Kanasas City Cheifs Super Bowl parade, Biden said in a  White House statement: “It is time to act. That’s where I stand. And I ask the country to stand with me.”  

The new office acts as a central base to concentrate and accelerate the administration’s current efforts and to enforce active policies more rigidly. As of Dec. 13, Harris launched the Safer States Initiative, outlining the office’s five major agenda items:  

• Establishing a State Office of Gun Violence Prevention 
• Investing in evidence-informed solutions to prevent and respond the gun violence 
• Strengthening support for survivors of firearm violence 
• Reinforcing responsible gun ownership 
• Enhancing gun background checks 

Although firearm violence has long been considered a national crisis, and a rapidly growing one, Washington had remained deadlocked on major reforms for more than a decade. Republican members of Congress have argued that measures taken to restrict firearms would violate the Second Amendment and consequently infringe on individual rights. Democratic members advocate that the presence of gun control laws would reduce gun deaths, insisting that too many lives have already been lost to ignore the issue.  

This impasse is made even more complex by legislative technicalities, according to professor of Political Science at CUNY David R. Jones.  

“Why isn’t a majority enough to pass?” said Jones. “The Senate filibuster – a tradition allowing a small group of Senators to hold up a final vote on a bill unless a three-fifths majority of Senators vote to stop them.” 

Besides making no collective progress, the attention of both groups has largely been allocated to fighting each other on additional issues, including the federal budget deficit and healthcare, said Monika McDermott, a professor of political science at Fordham University. 

This office would have the power to go over the heads of bickering Congressmen and streamline efforts to reduce gun violence, rather than defer to reforms requiring congressional approval.  

“If members of the Congress refuse to act, then we’ll need to elect new members of Congress that will act, Democrat or Republican,” said Biden.  

David Hogg, a survivor of the Parkland school shooting and an outspoken activist, said the Office of Gun Violence Prevention was a “powerful” recognition of young people and the issues they care about.  

“It’s frustrating— I want more to happen— but I also know there’s a complex network of things that are stopping us from making more progress,” said Hogg. “But President Biden is with us, and that’s the message he’s sending today.”  

Director of the Center for Gun Violence Prevention at Northwell Health Hospital Dr. Chethan Sathya said the new office would help people see gun violence as a public health issue, rather than a political one. 

The hospital had seen a 350 percent increase in the number of kids coming in with “horrific” gun injuries from 2021 to 2022, according to hospital records. 

“We treat kids from families who are on both sides of the political spectrum,” Sathya said. “I have yet to meet an American family who does not want zero mass shootings, no gun violence and better firearm safety.” 

This article was written on December, 2023 and updated for this March issue. 

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To stay updated on White House Office of Gun Violence Protection keep checking the White House statements and check Gun Violence Archive for updates on increase acts of violence throughout the United States to stay aware of this problem.