Wednesday’s speech by President Joe Biden was a promise to pursue illegal gun dealers, increase federal funding for local law enforcement and support them in their efforts to combat the rising homicide rate in large cities.
Biden stated that “Merchants for death are violating the law for profit”, and added that the administration would have “zero tolerance” for dealers of illegal firearms who violate federal laws.
He stated that the government will also help states to hire more officers with funds already approved for the recovery of the economy from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Biden addressed gun dealers who had “willfully” violated the law with “My message to them is this.” “We will find and license you to sell guns. We will make sure that you don’t sell death or mayhem on our streets.
Republicans condemned the measures as government excesses and linked them to efforts to control policing.
“I believe a lot it ties back this whole ‘defund police’ movement, and some of the disruptions we had in civil society last years,” stated Nebraska Governor. Fox News’ Pete Ricketts spoke on the topic. “And that’s part, I think, when you start to undermine that foundation, you start breaking down the bonds that hold our together, and that’s why we see an increase in crime.”
Biden and Attorney General Merrick Galrland announced at the White House that the administration would strengthen efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to end illegal gun trafficking in all 50 states. They also reiterated steps taken by the Department of Justice on Tuesday.
Biden signed executive orders in April asking the DOJ for a crackdown on self-assembled “ghost gun” kits. These orders enable Biden to act quickly and without waiting for Congress. Democrats have a slim majority, while Republicans are opposed to gun control legislation.
The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects gun rights. America’s rate of gun death is higher than other rich countries.
The White House stated that 2020 saw a 30% increase in homicides in large U.S. towns compared to a year ago, while gun attacks rose 8% in big cities like Chicago and Houston. This was citing a report from the nonpartisan Council on Criminal Justice.
The national rate is still much lower than the average national rate in the 1970s and 1980s.
“The precipitous rise in homicides coincided after George Floyd was shot to death in Minneapolis in May,” the report stated. It also noted that there was no connection between police violence and protests or community violence.
In 2020, property crimes such as burglaries, larcenies and other criminal acts fell dramatically.
Biden and Garland met before speaking with the mayors in Baltimore, Maryland, Rapid City, South Dakota, and Rapid City, South Dakota. They also met with the chief of Baton Rouge police and other experts to discuss safety measures for the community.
The U.S. Treasury Department published information about how states and localities can tap $350 billion from American Rescue Plan Act to combat violent crime.
Gun-safety activists are growing impatient with the administration for not acting faster to stop gun violence. Biden campaigned on a promise to fight the “epidemic”, which he made on his first day in office.
According to the Gun Violence Archive (a research group), 20,989 Americans were killed by gun violence in June 23rd. More than half of them committed suicide.
The Republican Party released a statement stating that Biden’s Democratic administration “should” have stood up against Democrats who don’t support law enforcement.
U.S. gun sales rose in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic and social unrest due to police killings of Blacks and a contested presidential campaign. Some experts predicted that a rise in homicides might follow.
According to David Hemenway of Harvard University, who is the director of the Injury Control Research Center at Harvard University, “It’s quite clear that more guns are more death,” he said to Reuters in October.
The Council on Criminal Justice reported that while there is “preliminary evidence,” it is not conclusive that gun sales are related to homicides. However, the report stated that more research is needed.
Biden was a senator and wrote many major anti-crime bills, including one in 1994 that included provisions now considered an overreaction by some to the rise in crime rates of the 1980s, 1990s. Critics claim that these bills led to mass incarceration for Black Americans. Biden’s involvement in the 2020 campaign was a major flashpoint.
Biden has rethought some aspects of the legislation and acknowledged its detrimental impact on many Black Americans. He and his associates still support the law’s provisions to deal with domestic violence, ban assault weapons, and finance community police.
