President Biden Met Today With City Officials and Law Enforcement Leaders from Across The Country, Providing Updates on the Administration’s Comprehensive Strategy to Reduce Gun Violence
President Biden Has Nominated a Highly Qualified ATF Director and Announced Life-Saving Executive Actions to Stop the Proliferation of Ghost Guns, Address City Gun Violence and Gun Trafficking, and More
Administration Has Made Clear American Rescue Plan Funds Can Be Used on Community Violence Intervention Programs, Summer Jobs Programs
WASHINGTON –– Today, Everytown for Gun Safety and its grassroots networks, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, released the following statements as President Joe Biden convened a meeting with city leaders and law enforcement officials from around the country on reducing crime and released a new memo on the tools the administration has made available for cities to improve public safety.
The meeting included Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington, D.C.; Mayor Sam Liccardo of San Jose, CA; Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams; Chief C.J. Davis of the Memphis Police Department; Superintendent David Brown of the Chicago Police Department; Chief Robert Tracey of the Wilmington Police Department; Lieutenant Anthony Lima of the Newark Police Division; and Aqeela Sherrills, Co-Founder of the Community-Based Public Safety Collective. Today’s meeting follows the Biden-Harris administration’s recent announcement of a comprehensive five-part strategy to reduce gun violence, that includes efforts to fight gun trafficking, investments in community violence intervention programs, and additional actions to help localities use American Rescue Plan funding to address rising crime.
“Gun violence is an epidemic in our country, and President Biden continues to meet rising summer gun violence with the action America needs,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “President Biden is taking on gun trafficking and investing in the proven on-the-ground violence intervention programs, providing the comprehensive approach we need to address this crisis. Today’s meeting convening city leaders, who are often facing the brunt of our gun violence epidemic, again demonstrates this administration’s commitment to ensuring those disproportionately impacted by gun violence are given the tools they need to protect their communities.”
“President Biden and Vice President Harris have pledged to take action on gun violence, and today’s meeting makes clear how they are delivering,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action. “President Biden is convening the broad coalition we need to address gun violence, from city leaders to law enforcement officials, and using every tool at its disposal, from going after gun trafficking to increased funding. Now it’s time for the Senate to join them by confirming David Chipman as Director of the ATF and by passing lifesaving, bipartisan background check legislation.”
The Biden-Harris administration previously announced a new Community Violence Intervention Collaborative of 15 jurisdictions that are committing to use a portion of their American Rescue Plan funding (or other funding) to increase investment in community violence intervention infrastructure, helping prepare cities for potential rises in violence over the summer. The jurisdictions include Atlanta, GA; Austin, TX; Baltimore, MD; Baton Rouge, LA; Chicago, IL; Detroit, MI; King County, WA; Los Angeles, CA; Memphis, TN; Minneapolis & St. Paul, MN; Newark, NJ; Philadelphia, PA; Rapid City, SD; St. Louis, MO; and Washington, DC.
This is the strongest gun safety administration in history, as evidenced by President Biden’s historic executive actions to address gun violence, his long record of taking on the NRA and passing life-saving laws, Vice President Kamala Harris’ years of gun safety advocacy, and the unmatched gun sense cabinet they have built in recent months. Today’s meeting builds on the important actions President Biden has already taken on gun safety since entering office, from the nomination of David Chipman to be ATF Director, to combating deadly, untraceable ghost guns, to the Department of Justice’s development of a strategy on reducing violent crime and a new, annual comprehensive report on firearms trafficking, to the new comprehensive strategy to address gun violence that includes efforts to fight gun trafficking and investments in community violence intervention programs. His administration’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2022 also included $200 million to a new community violence intervention program as a part of historic investments in gun safety.
