WAVE Educational Fund is at the White House to Celebrate Historic Gun Violence Reductions in Wisconsin and New Life-Saving Executive Orders

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, WAVE Educational Fund joined President Biden, Vice President Harris, and scores of gun violence prevention advocates from across the country at the White House to celebrate what the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention has achieved since its creation one year ago. Advocates also supported new Executive Orders that will save lives from gun violence, including one to crack down on “glock switches” – a device that can easily convert a handgun into a machine gun, and which police believe was used in the recent mass shooting in Birmingham, Alabama that left at least four people dead and 17 injured.

FBI data released this week show an almost 12% decline in homicides nationally in 2023 – the largest year-to-year drop in recorded history – on top of a 6% decline the prior year. Wisconsin also saw significant declines in 2023, and, from January to April of 2024, gun homicides decreased another 8% compared to the same time period in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Milwaukee saw an even larger decline; homicides dropped 21% from 2022 to 2023. In 2024, the gun violence victimization rate in Milwaukee fell an additional 12.6%, one of the largest decreases in the country.

The Biden-Harris administration’s unprecedented investments in community-based violence intervention programs and a whole-of-government approach to implement the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act have been key to this progress. But these efforts must be continued and reinforced, advocates say.

“For years, WAVE has been committed to reducing gun-related injuries and deaths across Wisconsin. While state-level policy reforms are essential to preventing gun violence, we cannot end this crisis without strong federal leadership and investment,” said Nick Matuszewski, Director of Policy and Program at WAVE Educational Fund. “Now, the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention has partnered with Wisconsin and local leaders to utilize every possible strategy to save lives – and we’re seeing progress. Today’s Executive Orders will address the devastating impact of machine gun converters, commonly known as glock switches, which have been tied to recent fatal shootings in Milwaukee and across the state. Our work will continue until every Wisconsinite is free from the threat of gun violence.”

The new Executive Orders announced today include:

• Establishing an Emerging Firearm threats task force to develop a coordinated, cross-departmental approach to machine gun converters and 3-D printed firearms designed to avoid existing law.
• Strengthening background checks by releasing model legislation on how juvenile records can be shared to enhance background checks.
• Reducing the trauma of active shooter drills by creating a manual on how to effectively conduct drills to prevent mass shootings while minimizing trauma to students and teachers.
• Clarifying Medicaid guidance on firearm safety counseling and community violence prevention funding to allow states to pay Medicare providers to prevent gun violence.

Key successes of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention in its first year include:

• Overseeing the distribution of $90 million in grants to community-based violence intervention programs, funded by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act – part of a $400 million total investment this administration has made in these evidence-based initiatives.
  • One example is 414Life, which has been working with people in the most heavily impacted neighborhoods in Milwaukee. 414Life helps stop the spread of gun violence through de-escalation and mediation of conflicts and educating the public to change the norms around gun violence.
  • Additionally, the cities of Green Bay and Racine were able to launch offices of violence prevention in 2023, with funding from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
• Overseeing a whole-of-government implementation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) of 2022 – the most significant new national gun violence prevention law passed in 30 years, including policies to:
  • Administer $750 million in BSCA funds to help states implement Extreme Risk Protection Order laws (also called “red flag” laws)
  • Expand and enhance background checks
  • Enforce straw purchasing and gun trafficking laws
  • Identify stolen guns
  • Stop domestic gun violence
• Implementing new Executive Orders to prevent gun violence, such as promoting safe gun storage.

More information about gun violence prevention initiatives in Wisconsin can be found at: waveedfund.org.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.