Thompson Attends White House Announcement on Gun Violence Reduction
Press Release
Posted:
Washington – Today, House Gun Violence Prevention Taskforce Chair Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05) attended an event at the White House on gun violence and crime reduction in the United States. This action comes following Rep. Thompson’s efforts to call attention to ghost guns. President Biden also announced Steve Dettelbach as his nominee to be director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
“Every day in the United States, 30 people are killed by someone using a gun — and that number jumps to over 100 when suicides and accidental shootings are factored in,” said Thompson. “As Chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Taskforce, I was proud to be at the White House today as President Biden announced new regulations cracking down on ghost guns and announced his nominee to serve as director of the ATF. As gun violence continues to plague our communities, we must do more to save lives, stop criminals and the dangerously mentally ill from obtaining firearms, and pass commonsense gun violence prevention measures.”
Ghost guns are untraceable firearms that are assembled from kits that are purchased without a background check. They are a popular choice amongst criminals and can be assembled within 30 minutes at home. Law enforcement has seen a significant increase in ghost guns over the past few years, including in California’s Fifth District. For example, in Vallejo, CA, the percentage of ghost guns recovered by the police jumped from 3 percent in 2018 to 55 percent in 2021.
Rep. Thompson is working to reduce crime and support law enforcement, and the steps announced by President Biden today are commonsense solutions to keep our communities safe and reduce crime rates across the country.
Rep. Thompson has been a leading voice in Congress on cracking down on ghost guns and has worked with White House to tackle this issue.
