WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two weeks after he signed it into law, President Joe Biden hosted an event at the White House on Monday to commemorate the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, and an Ohio mayor was in the nation’s capital for it.
What You Need To Know
- President Joe Biden marked the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act becoming law at a White House event on Monday
- The law enhances background checks for gun buyers under 21, provides funding for state-based crisis intervention programs among other things
- Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval attended the event in Washington, D.C.
- He said it’s a good first step but more needs to be done, including at the state level
The law enhances background checks for gun buyers under 21, provides funding for state-based crisis intervention programs, expands mental health services in schools and helps prevent domestic abusers from obtaining firearms.
Biden acknowledged the law falls far short of what he and his party had advocated for to stop the frequency of shootings in the United States.
Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval (D) agreed more needs to be done.
“It’s a start,” Pureval said. “It’s a really strong start, but I think everyone admits it’s just a start.”
Though he applauded the bipartisan bill that he called “the most significant piece of gun legislation in the last 30 years,” he said more needs to be done at the state level.
“What we need more than anything other than federal action, which is what we’re getting, is action at the state level,” Pureval said. “Our leaders in Columbus, Ohio, unfortunately have taken an opposite approach.”
He said laws, such as “stand your ground” laws, laws reducing hours needed for school staff to be armed in the classroom and removing requirements for licensed concealed carrying of firearms are sending Ohio in the wrong direction.
Pureval said he knows and agrees that not every community is the same and not every policy will work the same in urban areas versus rural areas.
“What we’re seeing is widespread violence from coast to coast, and so of course we need a national response,” he said.
He encouraged every local community to get involved in making their voices heard in the national conversation at the state and federal level.
“Their local elected officials should be partnering with our leaders in D.C. and with our leaders in the Statehouse in order to draft legislation and local policies that address their violence in the most specific way,” Pureval said. “A one-size-fits-all is not going to solve the issue, but we need federal leaders like President Biden to set the table for us and then empower local leaders to interrupt the violence and that’s what this bill does.”
He also said while he supports a ban on “assault weapons” and high-capacity magazines, he said he would like more attention turned to handgun-involved violence, which he said makes up more day-to-day shootings in American cities.
