President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Tuesday that will ramp up the number of background checks conducted before gun sales.
The administration is touting the measure as bringing the U.S. as close as possible to universal background checks without Congress passing additional legislation, which would be unlikely given the stalemate on the issue in Congress.
"Again and again, [Biden] has called for Congress to act, including by banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, requiring background checks for all gun sales, requiring safe storage of firearms, closing the dating violence restraining order loophole, and repealing gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability," the White House said.
The order also calls on Congress to encourage greater use of so-called "red flag" laws, which allows members of the community to petition a court to determine whether an individual is dangerous and should be legally denied access to firearms.
The administration stressed that these laws are only effective when the public is aware of their existence and knows how to use them. Currently, 19 states and the District of Columbia have red flag laws on the books.
Finally, the White House is urging the Federal Trade Commission to issue a public report investigating whether and how gun manufacturers market firearms to minors.
Biden signed the order in Monterey Park, California, where a gunman recently killed 11 people and injured nine others.
Read the full executive order here.
Updated March 14, 2023 at 4:55 p.m. ET after Biden signed the executive order.
Israeli troops advanced toward Gaza City on Thursday, as the Palestinian death toll rose above 9,000. With no end in sight after weeks of heavy fighting, U.S. and Arab mediators intensified efforts to ease Israel's siege of the Hamas-ruled enclave and called for at least a brief halt to the hostilities in order to aid civilians.
Rep. George Santos easily survived a vote Wednesday to expel him from the House as most Republicans and 31 Democrats opted to withhold punishment while both his criminal trial and a House Ethics Committee investigation proceed.
President Joe Biden visited Minnesota on Wednesday.
Former President Donald Trump's two sons, Eric and Donald Jr., are set to take the stand in the ongoing civil fraud trial against Trump and his companies. Trump Jr. is expected to testify Wednesday.
President Biden is heading to Minnesota and will tour a family-run farm and hold a fundraiser hosting the state's top Democrats.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether a California man is able to trademark the phrase 'Trump too small.' The phrase appears to mock former President Donald Trump and suggests the GOP front-runner is 'too small' for office.
Former president Donald Trump's two sons, Eric and Don Jr., are set to take the stand in the ongoing civil fraud trial against Trump and his companies.
More than 50 local officials signed onto a letter Tuesday calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to help municipal governments cut food waste in their communities.
After more than three weeks of siege, the first Palestinians — dozens of dual passport holders and seriously injured — were allowed to leave Gaza, where Israeli airstrikes pounded a refugee camp for the second day Wednesday.
The nation's top military and diplomatic leaders urged an increasingly divided Congress on Tuesday to send immediate aid to Israel and Ukraine, arguing at a Senate hearing that broad support for the assistance would signal U.S. strength to adversaries worldwide.
