Biden Called for the Fight Against Gun Violence

Joe Biden launched a new initiative Thursday to combat gun crimes, calling for stronger prosecutions of violent offenders and initiating new efforts to track the flow of illegal guns and prosecute illegal gun sales.

Biden visited New York City, where he met with the city’s new mayor, Eric Adams, a former police officer who in his first month in office faced the murders of several police officers.

“The attorney general today instructed all prosecutors in the United States to prioritize combating gun trafficking outside state and city borders,” Biden said after meeting with officials at the New York City Police Department headquarters.

The president did not announce any new measures to control gun ownership, but said gun manufacturers “should be held accountable.” He said, “I find it outrageous that cigarette sales in the United States are controlled while gun sales are controlled only to a limited extent.”

The president has allocated $350 million to cities across the country to confront a crime wave that has risen significantly during the pandemic.

The White House said that as part of the new initiative, the Justice Department has ordered federal prosecutors across the country to “increase resources allocated to violent crime strategies in specific counties to get violent gun recidivists off our streets.”

Biden said law enforcement agencies have been ordered to pay special attention to the so-called “iron pipeline” – the illegal flow of guns sold in southern U.S. states and then transported to the East Coast. Such weapons are subsequently most often found at crime scenes in cities such as New York City.

The current administration has launched the Nationwide Homemade Gun Initiative, under which prosecutors will begin prosecuting gun manufacturers without serial numbers or other identification, as well as tracking down unlicensed dealers who sell guns to criminals without the necessary background checks.

Biden’s visit to New York was also meant to dispel criticism from Republicans that the Democratic president is not tough enough on crime. Biden rejected the call to “stop funding the police,” promoted by some progressive left-leaning Democrats.

“We’re not talking about stopping funding,” Biden said. – We’re in the business of funding and providing more services. We need more social workers. We need more mental health professionals.”

During his visit to New York City, Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland attended an interagency meeting on gun violence that also included Mayor Adams and New York State Governor Kathy Haukul. The president and attorney general spoke with local leaders about community efforts to prevent crime.

Adams, who took office earlier this year, released his own plan to combat gun violence, many of whose points are similar to White House initiatives, including combating gun trafficking, increasing youth employment and increasing funding for mental health services.

“We must do everything we can to end this epidemic of gun violence and bring real peace and safety to our streets,” Adams wrote on his Twitter account Wednesday, commenting on yet another case of police officers being targeted by gun-wielding criminals.