What to Know
- President Biden was in the San Gabriel Valley community of Monterey Park Tuesday, arriving around midday.
- Biden will announce an executive order on firearms purchases while in the community east of LA where a gunman opened fire at a dance hall in January.
- Biden will depart LAX around 4:30 p.m.
President Joe Biden visited Monterey Park, site of a mass shooting in January that left 11 people dead and nine injured, after signing an executive order Tuesday designed to increase background checks before firearm sales.
The president's three-day swing through California and Nevada began Monday with a stop in San Diego. He was to attend a reception for the Democratic National Committee Monday night in Rancho Santa Fe.
Biden arrived early Tuesday afternoon at Los Angeles International Airport before taking a helicopter to the Monterey Park area east of Los Angeles. Biden was greeted at a soggy LAX by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn and Brandon Tsay, whose heroic act of courage likely saved lives when a gunman who had just opened fire at a Monterey Park dance hall entered a nearby dance studio.
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Biden made his executive order announcement at the Boys & Girls Club of West San Gabriel Valley during what is his first trip to California of 2023. Eleven people were killed Jan. 21 at the dance hall in Monterey Park when a shooter opened fire during a night of Lunar New Year celebrations.
The shooter was later disarmed in the lobby of another dance hall. Tsay, who wrestled the gun away from the shooter, was a guest at President Biden's Feb. 7 State of the Union address and sat in the first lady's viewing box during the speech.
"I'm here with you today to act,'' Biden told the crowd at the Boys & Girls Club of West San Gabriel Valley.
Biden also was expected to meet with victims' families Tuesday.
Drivers were asked to avoid streets in the Barnes Park area from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. due to road closures. Barriers were set up in the area early Tuesday.
In his February address, Biden renewed a call for a ban on military-style weapons. The executive order announced Tuesday marks an effort to increase "the number of background checks conducted before firearm sales, moving the U.S. as close to universal background checks as possible without additional legislation," according to a White House statement.
The order instructs the attorney general to ensure that firearm sellers who are ignorant of background check requirements or ignoring them to come in compliance, according to the White House. The order will also direct members of the Cabinet to work with communities and law enforcement where "red flag" laws are in effect allowing residents to petition a court to determine if a person presents a public danger, allowing weapons to be temporarily removed from the person's possession.
Biden's order will also direct the departments of Transportation and Justice to work on a plan to reduce the loss or theft of firearms during shipment and bolster the reporting of such losses and thefts. According to the White House, there has been a 250% increase in the number of firearms reported lost or stolen during shipment between federally licensed firearms dealers between 2018 and 2022.
The order will also include various other provisions, including authorizing the public release of inspection records for firearms dealers cited for violating federal firearms laws; accelerating federal law enforcement reporting of ballistics data in hopes of catching shooters; improving federal support for gun violence survivors; and advancing efforts to prevent the proliferation of weapons that are undetectable by metal detectors.
Biden departed for the West Coast Monday morning after a speech at the White House on the pressing matter of the nation's banks. Biden said the nation’s financial systems are safe in an effort to project calm following the collapse of two banks that triggered fears of wider upheaval.
His three-day California and Nevada swing started in San Diego, where he met Monday with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The international leaders talked about the Australia-United Kingdom-United States 18-month-old nuclear partnership known as AUKUS.
City News Service contributed to this report.
