Photo: whitehouse.gov
On Friday, April 19, the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention (OGVP) convened agencies from across the federal government as part of the Administration's Emergency Response to Gun Violence Protocol. The in-person meeting was held in the Roosevelt Room of the White House and was attended by the Office of the Vice President and the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, as well as the following agencies:
- Ministry of Justice
- Department of Homeland Security
- Small Business Administration
- Ministry of Education
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Ministry of Housing and Urban Development
- Department of Veterans Affairs
Prior to this first in-person meeting, OGVP regularly convened federal agencies to help coordinate federal resources available to communities after mass shooting incidents, such as the tragic shooting in Lewiston, Maine, and also assisted communities experiencing concentrations of community violence.
Under the supervision of Vice President Harris, OGVP also conducted regular listening sessions with communities that have experienced mass shootings and an increase in gun violence, including Buffalo, Uvalde, Parkland, Brooklyn Homes in Baltimore, Highland Park, and Columbine, to better understand their specific and unique needs in the wake of these tragedies.
During Friday's meeting, OGVP Deputy Director Gregory Jackson briefed agency officials on the administration's protocol for responding to gun violence in emergencies, as well as measures to help communities prevent future violence through community violence intervention, safe storage requirements, and funding available from the largest investment in student mental health in history, which helps employ and train more than 14,000 school-based mental health professionals. Agencies also reported on the various resources they have made available to communities in the wake of shooting tragedies, including victim services and resiliency centers.
This meeting was held in the wake of the Biden and Harris administration's announcement of a new rule that will save lives by reducing the number of firearms sold without background checks. This measure implements the bipartisan Safer Communities Act - the most significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years - and is part of the Biden and Harris Administration's strategy to stem the flow of illegally obtained firearms into our communities and hold accountable those who supply firearms used in criminal activity.
whitehouse.gov/gnews.cz-RoZ_07
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