Despite widespread skepticism, the Biden administration attempted to assert authority on gun-related matters recently, indicating a worrying tendency for overreach. They unveiled an executive order, which part of its focus was to offer schools instructions on preparing for active shooter incidents, a pressing concern in some circles, though this is a convoluted approach.
Through a questionable and troubling assumption of their understanding of K-12 school systems and higher education institutions, the Biden administration seeks to disseminate advice on how to fashion ‘evidence-informed active shooter drills.’ The recommendations have been described in broad terms by a White House fact sheet, leveraging the restrictive language of executive orders.
The administration’s plan also calls for details on how to orchestrate supposedly age-suitable drills and optimum methods of communication with families about the happenings. Although the concern for youth safety is valid, the problem lies in the fact that it’s the Biden administration that is steering the direction, fostering an environment of fear rather than reassurance.
Biden has tasked Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in an apparent nod to bureaucratic coordination. But, it remains a mystery as to how they’ll overcome the complex intricacies of school safety systems without significant pushback from the educational community and beyond.
A disturbing indication is that despite schools currently practicing drills to prep for active shooter situations, the White House argues there is ‘very limited research’ about their efficacy, and potential ‘collateral harms.’ However, one can’t help but wonder whether this concern is genuine, or simply another pretense to secure more governmental oversight.
Proffering a concerningly vague standpoint, the fact sheet underscored that educators, students, and parents have raised concerns about the traumatic impact of such drills. It’s a stance that may be considered hypocritical, given it’s the same administration adding to the drama with their unwarranted interference.
In further bureaucratic expansion, the executive order proposes the creation of a task force to scrutinize ’emerging firearm threats’. Their mandate, puzzlingly, is to instigate an investigation into the dangers potentially carried by machine gun conversion devices and serial-number-free 3D-printed firearms.
Highlighting the unnecessary sensationalism of the situation, Biden and Kamala Harris made plans to address ‘the scourge of gun violence in America.’ The glaring irony is that the administration under the same leadership has been less than effective in addressing the many other serious issues plaguing the nation.
The Biden administration has made a show of using multiple executive actions to attempt to tackle gun violence in the United States, in spite of a deeply split Congress. With a complete disregard for the Second Amendment, Democrats prioritize harsher gun regulations, while Republicans rightly stand against these draconian measures.
With an eerie fascination, the executive order’s task force plans to zone in on machine gun conversion devices. This arousing a misguided interest from the Justice Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, indicating a troubling bias.
While it’s admitted that these devices pose significant danger, turning ordinary handguns and rifles into machine guns, the same Justice Department official failed to mention the rarity of these occurrences, therefore stoking fear among citizens to justify further governmental power consolidation.
The task force is asked to create a report that assesses these devices’ threat, taking a leaf out of the alarmist playbook to further justify questionable policies. Frighteningly, the cryptically-worded executive order seeks to evaluate federal agencies’ ‘legal capacities’ to seize and intercept these devices, a clear violation of constitutional rights.
The report is anticipated to highlight any additional ‘authorities’ or funding requirements, supposedly to aid in the combat of these threats. Instead of investing in enforcing existing laws, the administration seems single-mindedly focused on creating new ones that will give them even more control.
While addressing valid concerns such as school security and proper firearm regulations are essential, the Biden administration’s latest move underscores a growing tendency for authoritarian rule that directly contradicts the principles our nation holds dear in our democratic society.