Gun reform advocates, frustrated that President Joe Biden has put on the back burner his campaign vow to finally address America’s gun violence epidemic, are calling for the creation of a new top-level office to spearhead the issue. That would be an appropriately high-profile approach to a national crisis that has been allowed to fester too long. Decades too long, in fact.
America’s political dysfunction is perhaps nowhere more evident than on guns. Despite broad public support (even among gun owners) for basic reforms like universal background checks for gun purchases and restrictions on military-style firearms and high-capacity ammunition magazines, Congress has been deadlocked for years.
That’s in large part due to the National Rifle Association — not just the campaign money it wields, but its dark success at whipping up the noisy minority of Americans who stubbornly oppose any gun restrictions whatsoever. Too many red-state politicians are more terrified of that segment of their base than they are concerned about the gun violence terrorizing the rest of their constituents, and to the country itself.
That dysfunction is the reason no director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has received Senate confirmation since 2015: The ATF enforces what meager federal gun laws there are on the books, so the gun lobby endlessly finds reasons to oppose any nominee who falls short of gun-fanatic standards.
Biden nominee David Chipman is the latest to languish, despite a long and impressive career within the agency, because he’s had the gall to speak frankly in the past about the need for reasonable firearms restrictions. With every Republican opposing him, Chipman needs every Democrat’s support, and a few fence-sitters aren’t there. So the nation’s lead agency for addressing gun issues remains rudderless.
In a letter obtained by Politico, a coalition of gun safety groups took Biden to task for, among other things, standing by the filibuster, the archaic Senate rule that has helped the GOP hold America hostage on guns even when it’s in the minority.
The letter makes a series of recommendations, most notably calling for creation of an Office of Gun Violence Prevention to act as the staging point for federal gun-reform efforts. Since the head of such an office wouldn’t be subject to Senate confirmation (as the ATF director wasn’t before 2006), the White House would be able to avoid letting this urgent issue become mired in partisan procedural games.
The activists also seek a comprehensive strategy for getting gun safety legislation approved — including “eliminating the filibuster if necessary” — and making better use of the presidential bully pulpit to rally the majority of Americans who understand that controlling gun violence means controlling guns. To say Biden has other issues on his plate would be an epic understatement, but this one deserves a return to front-burner status.
©2021 STLtoday.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
159752 58503Glad to be one of several visitants on this remarkable internet web site : D. 551593
698707 661660Nie and informative post, your every post worth atleast something. 815046
559799 399517Naturally I like your web-site, nevertheless you need to check the spelling on several of your posts. Several of them are rife with spelling issues and I find it very silly to inform you. On the other hand I will definitely come once more once more! 180983
731149 951483I observe there is a lot of spam on this weblog. Do you want assist cleaning them up? I may well support among classes! 979608
729737 128834Cheapest speeches and toasts, as properly as toasts. probably are created building your own at the party and is going to be most likely to turn into witty, humorous so new even. finest man toast 308715
638977 936017You should consider starting an email list. It would take your site to its potential. 769195
500455 350304Nice post. I be taught 1 thing more challenging on totally different blogs everyday. It will all the time be stimulating to learn content material from other writers and apply slightly one thing from their store. Id desire to use some with the content on my weblog whether you dont mind. Natually Ill give you a hyperlink on your net blog. Thanks for sharing. 901936
185195 272236Hello there! I could have sworn Ive been to this weblog before but soon after checking through some with the post I realized its new to me. Anyhow, Im surely glad I discovered it and Ill be bookmarking and checking back often! 911730
492272 509664thank you dearly author , I found oneself this web internet site really helpful and its full of excellent healthy selective data ! , I as effectively thank you for the great food program post. 642605
514282 471768I was trying to find this. Really refreshing take on the data. Thanks a great deal. 382261
450282 177279I take great pleasure in reading articles with quality content material. This write-up is one such writing that I can appreciate. Keep up the great work. 620252
676364 125046Im glad I found your article. I would never have made sense of this subject on my own. Ive read several other articles on this subject, but I was confused until I read yours. 995329