CASCADE COUNTY — As close to universal background checks as possible without additional legislation. That is how President Joe Biden's latest executive order regarding guns has been described.
"Today, I'm announcing another executive order that will accelerate and intensify this work to save more lives more quickly," President Biden said, speaking about the executive order. Speaking Tuesday in Monterey Park, California, where 11 people were shot and killed in January while celebrating the lunar new year, President Biden laid out his executive order.
"First, this executive order helps keep firearms out of dangerous hands," Biden said.
The order includes several directives for his cabinet, including ensuring all required background checks are done. Currently, only licensed federal firearms dealers are required to perform a background check on someone buying a gun.
"Universal background checks make no difference whatsoever," said Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter. He said enforcement of current laws is what the federal government should be focusing on, not simply trying to require everyone who sells a gun to perform a background check as the President continues to call for.
"Just recently here in our community, we had a convicted felon in possession of a gun shoot a police officer. So I'm really going to be interested to see, and follow that case, if that person is going to be held accountable for a felon in possession of a firearm. Historically, throughout my entire career I've seen the federal government fail repeatedly, over and over again, to properly prosecute felons in possession of firearms."
Another directive in the executive order is to promote the appropriate use of what are commonly referred to as red flag orders. "So more parents, teachers, police officers, health providers, counselors know how to flag a court that someone is exhibiting violent tendencies," said the President.
Slaughter said that's a slippery slope: "Red Flag laws probably would make the world safer, but to do that you have to throw away the entire constitution. If a government has the power to go take away your rights based on a crime you may commit in the future, think about the potential abuse of power that could be."
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