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President Joe Biden announced Wednesday a comprehensive strategy on preventing violent crime, with a particular emphasis on firearm crime, amid a nationwide increase in violent crime that emerged as an area of concern for the White House.
Biden addressed the issue in a speech at the White House, in which was accompanied by Attorney General Merrick Garland. “Historically, crime spikes during the summer and as we emerge from this pandemic with the country reopening, the traditional peak of the summer can be more pronounced than it normally would be,” said Biden.
Biden’s speech on Wednesday was an important marker ahead of a summer reopening of the Covid pandemic – 19, which has state marked by increased crime in cities across the country .
The White House has been concerned about rising crime in recent weeks and the president hoped to use the speech to cushion what has already become a stick for Republicans eager to carry out a “law and order” campaign in the mid-term elections. next year period, according to CNN .
During your comments s, Biden lobbied for an assault weapons ban, a move that is supposed to be passed to through Congress. “I’ve been right now, and there are things that we know work to reduce gun violence and violent crime , and what are the things we do not know, “said Biden.
” But the things we do know, Background checks for purchasing a firearm are important. The ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines: no one needs to own a weapon that can fire more than , 40, 50, even up 100 rounds, unless you think deer are wearing Kevlar vests or something. Community policing and programs that keep neighborhoods safe and keep people out of trouble – These efforts work, they save lives, but over time these policies were destroyed, sadly underfunded. ”
When asked if he is still hopeful that Congress will pass such a ban, Biden said,“ I never lose hope. ”
Biden’s emphasis on bringing more resources to the Police clashes with the position of the left wing of his party, which during last year’s racial protests embraced a petition to precisely reduce funding to state and local security forces, a movement known as “Defund the Police. ”
“ This is not the time to turn our backs on law enforcement or our communities, ”he argued, however, Biden.
Gun Control and the Second Amendment
Biden took the opportunity to defend his administration against allegations that it would inappropriately restrict the rights of the Second Amendment and countered the arguments of defenders of the weapons on the rise in violent crime.
“The Second Amendment, from the day it was passed, limited the type of people who could possessing a weapon and the type of weapon he could possess; You couldn’t buy a cannon, ”Biden said. “The point is that there has always been the ability to limit, rationally limit, the type of weapon that can be owned and who can own it.”
The president announced “a great repression to stop the flow of weapons used to commit violent crimes “, warning that the administration will enforce a” zero tolerance “policy” for arms dealers who intentionally violate existing laws and regulations. “
Biden also lobbied Congress to confirm David Chipman as his nominee to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, an agency that has not had a confirmed director for a long time.
A strategy to prevent violent crime
The crime prevention strategy institutes a series of measures between federal agencies and It is also based on allowing states to use funds from the American Rescue Plan for the hiring of law enforcement officers or the use of funds for community violence intervention programs.
According to the White House, the “comprehensive strategy to prevent and respond to arms crime and ensure public safety” will focus on these main pillars:
- Contain the flow of firearms used to commit violence, including by seizing assets from rogue firearms dealers who violate federal law
- Support local law enforcement with federal tools and resources to help address violent summer crime
- Invest in evidence-based community violence interventions; expanding summer programming, employment opportunities, and other services and supports for teens and young adults;
- Assist previously incarcerated individuals to successfully re-enter their communities.
- Use part of the budget for the next fiscal year, which has yet to be approved by the Congress, so that there is an agent specialized in firearms in all the police departments of the country
With information from EFE and CNN