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Giffords Responds to Department of Justice Plan to Address Gun Violence

 Department of Justice plan fails to prioritize effective gun safety laws 

November 13, 2019 — Giffords, the gun safety organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, responded to Attorney General Bill Barr’s plan to reduce gun violence.

Statement from Robin Lloyd, Giffords Managing Director:

“The Trump Administration has missed yet another opportunity to meaningfully address our nation’s gun violence epidemic. If they were serious about reducing gun violence, they wouldn’t design a program around NRA talking points. Americans from all walks of life—Democrats and Republicans, gun owners and non-gun owners—are crying out for action to prevent gun violence. Unfortunately, the plan put forth by the Trump administration is an inadequate response to a crisis which devastates too many communities. Universal background checks, extreme risk protection orders, and community violence intervention strategies would protect our kids and communities and are supported by the majority of Americans. If they actually wanted to save lives, Trump and Leader McConnell would pass these critical gun safety measures, and provide adequate resources to ATF and other law enforcement agencies to enforce those laws.”

Dubbed Project Guardian, the new plan from the Department of Justice focuses on prosecution of gun crimes, enforcing the background check system, information sharing between law enforcement agencies, mental health prohibitions, and crime gun intelligence, while ignoring critical loopholes in gun laws and the background check system in particular.

 Related Resources:  

Release: Giffords Reacts to White House Statement Telling the US House to Work on ‘Reducing Gun Violence.’ 

Release: After Shootings in California, Texas, and North Carolina in the Past 24 Hours, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords Calls for President Trump and the Senate to Act 

Blog: ATF is Already Small. President Trump Wants it to be Even Smaller