Biden announced Thursday in the White House Rose Garden in front of an audience of lawmakers and advocates for stricter gun laws that gun violence is an epidemic, and he laid out a plan aimed to fix it.

According to NPR, Biden announced that he has planned to combat gun violence with the following actions:

“An effort to rein in the proliferation of so-called ghost guns, which can be assembled at home from kits and contain no serial numbers. Biden wants to require serial numbers on key parts and require buyers to have background checks.

The Justice Department will issue an annual report on firearms trafficking, updating the last one from 2000.

The Justice Department has been directed to draft rules regulating stabilizing braces that make AR-15 pistols, which are generally subject to fewer regulations than rifles, more stable and accurate. The suspect in last month’s Boulder, Colo., mass shooting that killed 10 people reportedly used such a brace.

The Justice Department will draft a template for states to use to write ‘red flag’ laws that enable law enforcement and family members to seek court orders to remove firearms from people determined to be a threat to themselves or others.”

It was also announced that ATF veteran David Chipman was nominated by Biden to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, an agency that plays a key role in gun regulations. “As a father, public servant, gun owner, and decorated law enforcement professional Chipman has spent his life serving the public, combating violent crime, and striving to make our nation and our communities safer every day,” the White House stated.

Susan Rice, Biden’s domestic policy adviser, told NPR’s Juana Summers that Thursday’s actions are just the first steps. “This is not the end of what this administration will do,” Rice said, “but we thought it was very important for the president to come out early, within the first 100 days of his administration, to make clear … that this remains a very significant priority for the administration.”

The pressure from gun control advocates finally pushed Biden to take action. This is a great example of the ways that Biden listens to the people and what they need. Amy Hunter, a spokeswoman for the National Rifle Association said, “The NRA will fight this nomination and ill-conceived executive actions.” This is just one of many people that are going to fight against Biden’s gun control plan. I am not convinced yet that the Biden administration will win this fight.

Lindsey Ulrey is a freshman political science major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or lrulrey@eiu.edu.