Biden orders gun control actions — but his limits shown

WASHINGTON » President Joe Biden put on a modest White House ceremony Thursday to announce half a dozen executive actions to combat what he called an “epidemic and an international embarrassment” of gun violence in America.

But he said much more is needed. And for Biden, who proposed the most ambitious gun control agenda of any modern presidential candidate, his limited moves underscored his limited power to act alone on guns with difficult politics impeding legislative action on Capitol Hill.

Biden’s new steps include a move to crack down on ghost guns, homemade firearms that lack serial numbers used to trace them and are often bought without a background check. He’s also moving to tighten regulations on pistol-stabilizing braces like the one used in Boulder, Colorado, in a shooting last month that left 10 dead.

The president’s actions delivered on a pledge he made last month.