President Biden’s White House pushes for more gun regulation after Buffalo shooting

After the recent mass shooting in Buffalo, which left 10 people dead this weekend, the White House is has said that it is stepping up its push for the Senate to confirm Joe Biden’s top gun regulator.

Biden described the Buffalo shooter as being “armed with weapons of war and a hate-filled soul.”

Administration officials had already been highlighting the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ central role in fighting hate crimes, domestic terrorism and gun violence ahead the shooting in Buffalo, in which an 18-year-old racist targeted a Black neighborhood grocery store. 

Biden set to visit Buffalo on Tuesday, and he has said he will aim to refocus attention on Steve Dettelbach’s nomination to head the agency by spotlighting his record overseeing prosecutions in cases involving racially-motivated violence.

“It’s our hope that the Senate swiftly confirms Steve Dettelbach to lead ATF — particularly given his track record of prosecuting hate crimes — so Dettelbach can help the Bureau redouble their work fighting domestic terrorism and gun crime,” Mike Gwin, a White House spokesperson, said on Monday.

The ATF has not had a permanent director since 2015. Biden’s first pick for the post was David Chipman, however he withdrew in September amid opposition from moderate Democrats.

In an attempt to secure the 50 votes required for Dettelbach, gun-control group Everytown for Gun Safety sent out a memo on Monday to Senate offices that focuses specifically on his history of fighting violent extremism both from his time as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio and as chair of the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Advisory Subcommittee.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), meanwhile, told POLITICO he expects the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold its first hearing on D