AFT President Randi Weingarten Welcomes Latest White House Move on Gun Safety

WASHINGTON—American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement after President Joe Biden’s announcement today banning unlicensed home kits to manufacture so-called ghost guns, as part of the administration’s efforts to crack down on the proliferation of untraceable firearms:

“Gun violence is a painful scourge on our communities. New York City had a devastating reminder of this on Friday when a ninth grader from a school I help found, University Prep Charter High School, was murdered with an untraceable firearm. This afternoon, President Biden took an important step to help ensure not one more family, educator or neighborhood suffers the horrific trauma of a life taken by a ghost gun. Make no mistake, these privately made guns without serial numbers are most commonly found at crime scenes; they are not the tools of responsible gun owners, sport shooters or collectors.

“This commonsense ban makes clear that the administration continues to take seriously the epidemic of gun violence and will not be intimidated by the powerful gun lobby’s efforts to normalize gun deaths.”