But his comments earlier to reporters suggest that anything short of that would be negligible. The actions at Mr. Biden’s disposal include using his position of authority or other powers of persuasion to push Congress to ban assault weapons, restrict the purchase of ammunition or require background checks.
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Mr. Biden reminded reporters on Tuesday that as a senator he led the successful effort in 1994 to pass a ban on assault weapons as a way to reduce the use of “weapons of war” in shootings at schools, shopping malls and elsewhere. The ban stayed in place until Congress let it lapse 10 years later.
Since then, however, Washington has refused to reinstate the ban, and has largely failed to pass significant new restrictions on the sale, manufacture or distribution of firearms. Modest bipartisan legislation passed last year, and signed into law by Mr. Biden, offered incentives to local governments to set up red flag laws and made minor changes to background check laws.
The issue of what to do about gun violence in America has been a challenge for presidents for years.
In 2012, President Barack Obama struggled to hold back tears as he reacted to the killing of 20 children at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. Months later, he responded angrily when the Senate rejected his appeal for universal background checks on all gun sales. Mr. Obama called it a “shameful day for Washington.”
“But this effort is not over,” Mr. Obama said, echoing the language of presidents before and after him. “I want to make it clear to the American people we can still bring about meaningful changes that reduce gun violence, so long as the American people don’t give up on it. Even without Congress, my administration will keep doing everything it can to protect more of our communities.”
In 2018, after a shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla., President Donald J. Trump convened a session broadcast on live television and declared: “It would be so beautiful to have one bill that everyone could support. It’s time that a president stepped up.” He later abandoned efforts to pass gun safety legislation in the face of lobbying by conservative lawmakers and the National Rifle Association.
