WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Texas Gun Sense joined President Biden, Vice President Harris, and scores of gun violence prevention advocates from across the country for an event to celebrate what the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention has achieved since its creation one year ago. Advocates also supported new Executive Orders that will save lives from gun violence, including one to crack down on “glock switches” – a device that can easily convert a handgun into a machine gun, and which police believe was used in the recent mass shooting in Birmingham, Alabama that left at least four people dead and 17 injured.

FBI data released this week show an almost 12% decline in homicides nationally in 2023 – the largest year-to-year drop in recorded history – on top of a 6% decline the prior year. Gun victimization is down 16.7% in Texas, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive. The Biden-Harris administration’s unprecedented investments in community-based violence intervention programs and a whole-of-government approach to implement the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act have been key to this progress. But these efforts must be continued and reinforced, particularly at the state level.

“State-level policy change is absolutely critical to preventing gun violence, but we can’t end this epidemic without proactive federal leadership and investments,” said Nicole Golden, Executive Director of Texas Gun Sense. “Under the leadership of Vice President Kamala Harris, the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention has partnered with Texas and local leaders to pull every lever possible to save lives – and it’s working. Today’s new Executive Orders will combat the catastrophic damage from machine gun converters known as glock switches, which have recently been linked to fatal shootings and injuries in Dallas. We won’t stop until all Texans are free from gun violence.”

The new Executive Orders announced today include:

• Establishing an Emerging Firearm Threats task force to develop a coordinated, cross-departmental approach to machine gun converters and 3-D printed firearms designed to avoid existing law;
• Strengthening background checks by releasing model legislation on how juvenile records can be shared to enhance background checks;
• Reducing the trauma of active shooter drills by creating a manual on how to effectively conduct drills to prevent mass shootings while minimizing trauma to students and teachers;
• Clarifying Medicaid guidance on firearm safety counseling and community violence prevention funding to allow states to pay Medicare providers to prevent gun violence.

Key Successes of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention in its First Year Include:

• Overseeing the distribution of $90 million in grants to community-based violence intervention programs, funded by the Bipartisan Safer Community Act – part of a $400 million total investment this administration has made in these evidence-based initiatives. One recipient is ATX Peace, the organization Texas Gun Sense recently honored as the Frances Schenkkan Advocate of the Year;
• Overseeing a whole-of-government implementation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) of 2022 – the most significant new national gun violence prevention law passed in 30 years, including policies to:
  • Administer $750 million in BSCA funds to help states implement Extreme Risk Protection Order laws (also called “red flag” laws)
  • Expand and enhance background checks
  • Enforce straw purchasing and gun trafficking laws
  • Identify stolen guns
  • Stop domestic gun violence
• Implementing new Executive Orders to prevent gun violence, such as promoting safe gun storage. These critical measures build on the work that Texas Gun Sense and its partners have successfully led in Texas, where school districts are now required to disseminate secure firearm storage education to parents and guardians of K-12 students. 

More information about gun violence prevention initiatives in Texas can be found at txgunsense.org.

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Texas Gun Sense advocates to prevent gun violence and other gun tragedies in Texas through education, partnerships and policy change.