On Friday, April 19, the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention (OGVP) convened agencies from across the federal government as a part of the Administration's gun violence emergency response protocol. The in-person convening took place in the Roosevelt Room at the White House and included the Office of the Vice President and the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, as well as participation from the following agencies:
- Department of Justice
- Department of Homeland Security
- Small Business Administration
- Department of Education
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Department of Veteran Affairs
Prior to this first in-person convening, OGVP has regularly convened federal agencies to help coordinate federal resources available to communities following mass shooting incidents, like the tragic shooting in Lewiston, Maine, as well helping communities experiencing concentrations of community violence.
Overseen by Vice President Harris, OGVP has also led regular listening sessions with communities that have experienced mass shootings and surges 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 convening, OGVP Deputy Director Gregory Jackson briefed agency officials on the Administration's gun violence emergency response protocol, as well as measures to help communities prevent future violence through community violence intervention, safe storage requirements, and funding available from the single largest investment in student mental health in history that is helping to hire and train more than 14,000 school mental health professionals. Agencies also briefed out on the various resources they have made available to communities following shooting tragedies, including victim services and resiliency centers.
This convening comes on the heels of the Biden-Harris Administration announcing a new rule that will save lives by reducing the number of firearms sold without background checks. This action implements the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act - the most significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years - and is part of the Biden-Harris Administration's strategy to stem the flow of illegally acquired firearms into our communities and hold accountable those who supply the firearms used in crime.
