U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- Joe Biden has released his “comprehensive strategy to prevent and respond to gun crime and ensure public safety,” and a careful read of the 4,481-word “fact sheet” is essentially the same thing Biden and the gun prohibition lobby has been selling for a long time, but with new packaging.
Key elements include Biden’s desire for Congress to repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which anti-gunners despise because their goal is to sue the gun industry into bankruptcy.
He also wants to “Stem the flow of firearms used to commit violence, including by holding rogue firearms dealers accountable for violating federal laws.”
Biden will also “convene and support” a Community Violence Intervention Collaborative involving 15 jurisdictions. The cities, and King County, Washington, are nearly all headed by Democrat administrations.
The administration’s release comes as reports of surging homicides are plaguing several cities. According to the Washington Post, “In the first quarter of 2021, homicides were up over the same period last year in several cities including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, Orlando, Pittsburgh and Tampa.”
AmmoLand did a quick check and found the mayors of all of these cities belong to one party: Democrat. Likewise, the story mentioned Philadelphia and New York City, both also run by Democrats. Does anyone see a correlation?
The story noted 27 city mayors wrote to Biden “to demand that he press Congress for action on gun legislation, including background checks” in the aftermath of mass shootings in four cities all within hours of one another on June 11.
“But the mayors, all Democrats, also acknowledged that action was likely to be blocked by Republicans in Congress, who say that new restrictions infringe on Second Amendment rights,” the Washington Post said.
VOA News notes that Republicans “are blaming the surge in homicides and shootings on the progressives’ purported anti-police rhetoric as they press for a return to tough-on-crime policies.”
The aforementioned King County in Washington is home to Seattle, where anti-police rhetoric has been running at a fever pitch for a year, and some members of the city council have been in the forefront. Not surprisingly, they have been remarkably silent in recent days since a female Seattle police officer was killed while trying to assist at a traffic crash on I-5 ten minutes after going off-duty. The crash was allegedly caused by a suspect driving a stolen U-Haul, who then took the dead officer’s private vehicle with her uniform, badge and gun inside, and fled the scene. That man is now in jail.
The Washington Post reported that “Experts and law enforcement officials alike point first to the flood of guns on American streets.”
Under the Biden initiative, “The strategy will also address the direct link between gun violence and the rise in violent crime by taking immediate steps to keep guns out of the wrong hands, including by strengthening ATF’s efforts to stem the flow of firearms used in crimes, and by launching multijurisdictional firearms trafficking strike forces to stop illegal gun trafficking across state lines.” He also wants to crack down on so-called “rogue gun dealers.”
Biden wants Congress to “toughen regulations on ghost guns,” and confirm a permanent ATF director.
On the latter note, the Senate Judiciary Committee is poised to vote on the nomination of David Chipman to head the federal gun regulation agency, but his background continues to be an issue.
Chipman has become an outspoken gun control advocate as an advisor to Everytown for Gun Safety and the Giffords gun prohibition lobbying group.
But now, according to Fox News, “several former and current members” of the ATF “are sounding the alarm against” Chipman.
Former ATF Director Michael Sullivan told Fox News, “I am concerned that somebody who has taken such a strong and hostile position against the Second Amendment, as well as gun owners and some of the most popular firearms in the United States, would be viewed as a political leader for an agency that, I think, has worked extremely hard to build the American public confidence in its handling of interpreting both the Gun Control Act and the various regulations around it.”
The story also noted, “The current and former ATF agents who spoke to Fox News described Chipman as an “activist” who is not right for the role of ATF director.”
Another controversy has arisen around Chipman—reported here by AmmoLand News—regarding allegations he lost a duty weapon while working as an ATF agent, an accusation Chipman has denied.
The president’s new gun control scheme and Chipman’s nomination controversy coincide with the signing of a new law in Missouri by Republican Gov. Mike Parson that “instructs local and state police not to enforce federal gun laws.”
While the Justice Department sent a letter to Parson advising against this new statute, the governor and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt are reportedly standing firm.
Schmitt, who is running to succeed retiring U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, told the Washington Times, “This is, in many ways, forward-looking — expecting a very aggressive action on the part of the Biden administration as it relates to the Second Amendment…We are not going to back down.”
This sets up what could be a confrontation between the state and the federal government, with overtones of states’ rights versus federal authority.
Harvard Law Prof. Laurence Tribe, a constitutional scholar, told the Washington Times that federal law takes precedent over conflicting state statute. He noted the 2008 Heller ruling allowed for some reasonable regulation of Second Amendment rights. Opinions differ on what is a “reasonable” regulation.
With a long, hot summer on the horizon—when homicides often spike and violent crime might erupt, especially with funding cuts to some police agencies—Biden’s newly re-packaged “comprehensive” strategy to address guns and crime will be on the line.
Tens of millions of law-abiding gun owners are digging in for what could become a bitter battle setting the stage for an even tougher political fight leading up to next year’s mid-term elections.
About Dave Workman
Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.
The post Biden Reveals ‘Comprehensive Gun Crime Strategy’ – Same Old Same Old appeared first on AmmoLand.com.
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