Effort continues administration’s work to prevent mass shootings and homicides that primarily affect Black and Latino communities
The Biden administration has announced the nation’s first federal Office of Gun Violence Prevention. In a statement released Thursday, the White House said the office will be overseen by Kamala Harris’s office, directed by Stefanie Feldman, a longtime Biden gun policy adviser, and deputy-directed by Greg Jackson and Rob Wilcox, who have led national prevention efforts through the Community Justice Action Fund and Everytown for Gun Safety respectively.
The creation of this office is a continuation of the administration’s work on preventing high-profile mass shootings and local homicides that primarily affect lower-income Black and Latino communities.
“In the absence of that sorely-needed action, the Office of Gun Violence Prevention along with the rest of my Administration will continue to do everything it can to combat the epidemic of gun violence that is tearing our families, our communities, and our country apart,” Biden said in the announcement.
This is basically little more than a committee, they can’t just create a new branch of government by fiat. It’s normal for vice presidents to head “task forces” or committees when the administration wants to focus attention on a given issue.
Cf. Pence’s role in the COVID task force and Space Council and Biden’s role on the middle class task force during the Obama administration.
When vice presidents aren’t breaking tie votes in the Senate, this kind of stuff is basically all they have to do anyway. What is it you think the VP is supposed to be spending their time doing?