By Oliver Davis
U.S. Attorney General William Barr, announced a new initiative yesterday, Tuesday, to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws throughout the country.
The long awaited initiative will be welcome by campaigners against easy access to guns after so many loves over the decades have needlessly been taken by trigger happy nuts. Barr was in Memphis, Tennessee, to unveil the strategic five-point plan, named Project Guardian, with a special focus on investigating, prosecuting, and preventing gun crimes.
“Gun crime remains a pervasive problem in too many communities across America. Today, the Department of Justice is redoubling its commitment to tackling this issue through the launch of Project Guardian,” Barr said in a statement.
“Building on the success of past programs like Triggerlock, Project Guardian will strengthen our efforts to reduce gun violence by allowing the federal government and our state and local partners to better target offenders who use guns in crimes and those who try to buy guns illegally.”
Barr intends to implement the project through the utilisation of federal resources to crack down on crimes involving guns, simultaneously working alongside local and regional law enforcement to reduce violent crime. The project will implement five principles, including coordinated prosecution of new cases involving defendants who are believed to have used a firearm in committing a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime prosecutable in federal court; or are suspected of actively committing violent crime in the community on behalf of a criminal organisation.
Working alongside the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), will also enforce background checks, reviewing existing guidelines and creating new ones for the intake and prosecution of federal cases involving false statements made while attempting to purchase firearms or a firearms license.
Under his innovative scheme, Information sharing will also be improved and decentralised. Information on those who have been issued denials under the national background check system given to state and local law enforcement. It will also update information into the background check system in a timely manner in the wake of new or additional information about those who are prohibited from owning firearms due to mental health reasons.
Finally, federal, state, local, and tribal prosecutors and law enforcement will be working together to ensure effective use of the ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence Centers (CGICs) and all related resources to maximise the use of modern intelligence tools and technology.
Barr said he has high hopes for the five-step framework and is “committed to preventing gun violence” whenever possible.
“I know you share my grave concern regarding the gun violence that has plagued our communities and that you are committed to preventing gun violence whenever possible. By initiating Project Guardian, we take an important step in increasing the safety and security of our communities. I look forward to hearing in the coming months about your implementation of this program, which will help make our country a safer place for all,” he said.
The release of Project Guardian follows a series of back-to-back shootings in recent months in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, that killed more than 30 people.