President Joe Biden on Friday is marking one year since the passage of the first major gun safety legislation in a generation during a summit in Connecticut, as gun violence reaches record levels in the United States and additional congressional action remains stalled.
Last year, Biden signed legislation called the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law -- a significant breakthrough on one of the most contentious policy issues. The administration has also implemented two dozen executive actions to try to reduce gun violence. But in the absence of congressional action, the White House has turned their focus to state action to try to reduce gun violence.
"He's going to continue to talk about the importance of Congress moving forward. But also, states have taken action," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday.
"Let's not forget: Connecticut has taken actions. And there's been -- multiple states have actually done the work to ban assault weapons, do red flags, and do other things that are incredibly important that's going to protect communities. And so, we're going to lift that up as well," she added.
Biden will be speaking at the University of Hartford, where, in 2013, former President Barack Obama delivered remarks following the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut. Ten years later, gun violence remains a challenging issue for the White House.
Since the law was signed last year, further action on gun violence has stalled in Congress. After three children and three adults were killed in a shooting at a private Christian elementary school in Nashville in March, Biden asserted that he's done all he can to address gun control and urged members on Capitol Hill to act.
Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act on June 25, 2022, in the wake of horrific shootings at a grocery story in Buffalo, New York, and an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
The law includes millions of dollars for mental health, school safety, crisis intervention programs and incentives for states to include juvenile records in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. It also made significant changes to the process when someone ages 18 to 21 goes to buy a firearm and closes the so-called boyfriend loophole, a victory for Democrats, who have long fought for that.
Friday's summit -- put together by Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, along with gun safety groups -- is intended to highlight last year's legislation and drill down on policy.
"I think it's really smart for them to put this together to remind people about this legislation," said Mark Barden, co-founder and CEO of the Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund. "It's a good start. We need to keep the momentum going."
The Gun Violence Archive reports that there have been more than 290 mass shootings in the US so far this year, leaving more than 325 people dead and 1,175 injured. Mass shootings have become so common in the United States that the White House has framed their approach as akin to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's hurricane response.
Behind the scenes, administration officials have been developing ways in which the federal government can respond in the short and long term after a mass shooting, recognizing the physical, mental, and economic ramifications. White House officials have been sober about the political realities Democrats face with the current makeup of Congress, where Republicans in control of the House have rejected Biden's calls for an assault weapons ban. Even when both chambers of Congress were controlled by Democrats during the first two years of Biden's term, an assault weapon ban gained little traction, in part because of a 60-vote threshold necessary to advance bills through the Senate.
However, the administration is still taking executive actions on the issue, including one that will be announced Friday regarding new steps to advance mental health initiatives for young people affected by gun violence, an official tells CNN.
As part of Friday's announcement, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Education will work together to address "unprecedented challenges and disruptions in their school lives and communities, including increased disconnection and social isolation as well as increased gun violence," according to a release shared with CNN.
According the administration, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act has seen $286 million in Department of Education funding to date to expand mental health coverage through the School-Based Mental Health and Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration -- an investment the administration estimates will lead to 14,000 additional mental health professionals in schools.
An additional $1 billion in funding has been awarded through the department's Stronger Connections Grant, which targets high-need districts, and $50 million in funding for before- and after-school programming for youths.
"Too many students have experienced gun violence in their schools and communities. The grief and trauma caused by gun violence undermines their ability to learn and thrive and has only heightened the national youth mental health crisis," Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement shared with CNN Thursday. "The Department of Education is using every available resource to maximize the investments made through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to help schools build an infrastructure of care and support for students."
And at HHS, an estimated $245 million in funding has been awarded under the law to support youth mental health, with additional funding for school-based mental health programs, personnel training, and treatment and support services "for individuals and communities affected by trauma caused by gun violence," the administration said in a statement.
"It's no secret that we are facing a mental health crisis in this country, and our children are hurting," HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. "The actions being announced today will make it easier for schools to receive payment for the mental health services they deliver to students impacted by gun violence."
