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Diamars 15 Februari 2022

Gun control groups press Biden to do more to stop violence

(AP) — Four years after change.
17 people were gunned There are limits to what the
down at Stoneman Doug- president can do when there
las High School in Park- is no appetite in Congress
land, Florida, families and to pass gun legislation. The
gun control advocates are strongest effort in recent years
pressing President Joe failed, even after 20 children
Biden to do more to ad- and six adults were killed in
dress gun violence. the 2012 Sandy Hook school
shooting in Newtown, Con-
One father of a victim killed necticut. Parkland happened
in the shooting sent an ear- six years later.
ly morning tweet Monday,
the anniversary of the Park- Biden, a Democrat, said he’s
land shooting, saying that asked members of Congress
he’d climbed a 150-foot-tall to provide funding to help
(46-meter-tall) crane near the reduce violent crime and
White House. said they must pass legisla-
a website chronicling the board. He also was forced to ing left 14 students and three tion requiring background
47,000 gun deaths and 42,000 pull his nominee to lead the staff members dead, gun
“The whole world will listen gun injuries in the country Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, violence at schools has only checks on all gun sales, ban-
to Joaquin today. He has a since Biden was inaugu- Firearms and Explosives. The risen. There were at least 136 ning assault weapons and
very important message,” the rated. The tracker also lists group is calling on Biden to instances of gunfire on school high-capacity magazines and
father, Manuel Oliver, said the number of young people stand up a national office to grounds between Aug. 1 and eliminating immunity for
in a video tweeted at about killed and injured as well as address gun violence and to Dec. 31, according to a tally gun manufacturers.
6:50 a.m., referring to his the number of mass shoot- make a new nomination to last week by the gun control
son, Joaquin Oliver. “I asked ings in the same time frame, head the ATF. advocacy group Everytown The U.S. Secret Service’s
for a meeting with Joe Biden and it includes a feature al- for Gun Safety. National Threat Assess-
a month ago, never got that lowing users to publicly call Biden said in a statement be- ment Center studied school
meeting.” on Biden and other adminis- fore the planned protest that Biden has acted to crack attacks nationwide from
tration officials to act against the movement to end gun down on “ ghost guns,” 2006-18 and reported that
Oliver unfurled a sign that gun violence. violence is “extraordinary.” homemade firearms that lack most attackers were bullied
showed a photo of his son serial numbers used to trace and that warning signs were
and criticized Biden for gun “As a candidate, Joe Biden “We can never bring back them and that are often pur- there. Most important, the
deaths on his watch. Police promised to prioritize gun vi- those we’ve lost. But we can chased without a background researchers said, about 94%
were called to the scene, olence prevention. As presi- come together to fulfill the check. He has worked to talked about their attacks and
where at least two people dent, Joe Biden has not,” said first responsibility of our tighten regulations on pistol- what they intended to do in
were on the crane. They said Igor Volsky, founder and ex- government and our democ- stabilizing braces like the one some way, whether orally or
later that three people were ecutive director of the group racy: to keep each other safe,” used in a Boulder, Colorado, electronically, and 75% were
taken into custody but didn’t Guns Down America. he said. “For Parkland, for all shooting that left 10 people detected because they talked
identify them. about their plots. About 36%
those we’ve lost, and for all dead. He’s also encouraged were thwarted within two
In his first year in office, those left behind, it is time to cities to use their COVID-19
Meanwhile, dozens of advo- Biden’s efforts to pass leg- uphold that solemn obliga- relief dollars to help manage days of their intended attacks.
cates were set to rally outside islation to tighten gun laws tion.” gun violence. But these ef-
the White House and unveil
haven’t left the drawing Since the Parkland shoot- forts fall far short of major

West megadrought worsens to driest in at least 1,200 years

(AP) - The American ward a drier, gradually drier go with tree rings. only worse one was in the said, 2019 was a wet year so
West’s megadrought deep- state in the West and that A few years ago, Wil- 1500s. He figured the cur- it looked like the western
ened so much last year means the worst-case sce- liams studied the current rent drought wouldn’t sur- drought might be coming to
that it is now the driest in nario keeps getting worse,” drought and said it quali- pass that one because mega- an end.
at least 1,200 years and is a said study lead author Park fied as a lengthy and deep droughts tended to peter But the region dried up in
worst-case climate change Williams, a climate hydrolo- “megadrought” and that the out after 20 years. And, he late 2020 and 2021.
scenario playing out live, a gist at UCLA. “This is right
new study finds. in line with what people were
thinking of in the 1900s as a
A dramatic drying in 2021 worst-case scenario. But to-
— about as dry as 2002 and day I think we need to be
one of the driest years ever even preparing for condi-
recorded for the region — tions in the future that are far
pushed the 22-year drought worse than this.”
past the previous record-
holder for megadroughts in Williams studied soil mois-
the late 1500s and shows no ture levels in the West — a
signs of easing in the near box that includes California,
future, according to a study Wyoming, Utah, Nevada,
Monday in the journal Na- Arizona, most of Oregon and
ture Climate Change. Idaho, much of New Mexi-
co, western Colorado, north-
The study calculated that ern Mexico, and the south-
42% of this megadrought west corners of Montana and
can be attributed to human- Texas — using modern mea-
caused climate change. surements and tree rings for
estimates that go back to the
“Climate change is changing year 800. That’s about as far
the baseline conditions to- back as estimates can reliably