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A28 u.s. news
Diabierna 23 Juli 2021

Garland: To help combat gun violence, confirm ATF leader

(AP) — Attorney Gen- longer-term effort to combat with similar gun task forces,
eral Merrick Garland said gun trafficking. too, including in New York.
Thursday he hoped the
Senate would confirm the There is no federal gun traf- “These previous approaches
head of the Bureau of Al- ficking law, so federal agents generally surged resources
cohol, Tobacco, Firearms often must rely on other stat- to specific areas, without a
and Explosives, to help utes, like lying on a firearms sustained focus on cross-ju-
front the federal effort purchase form, to prosecute risdictional trafficking,” the
against gun violence. gun trafficking cases or stop department said. “Now we
straw purchasers, people who are formalizing and standard-
The nomination of David buy weapons legally to then izing coordination between
Chipman has been stalled provide them to others who districts. This strategy is fo-
as Republicans and the Na- can’t legally have them. cused on trafficking — keep-
tional Rifle Association work stepped-up enforcement in jurisdictions, Justice Depart- ing firearms out of the hands
to sink it. Chipman is a two- so-called supply areas — cit- ment officials said. Authori- Officials hope the new plan of those who will pull the
decade veteran of the ATF ies and states where it’s easier ties have also embedded fed- will mean federal prosecutors trigger.”
who served as an adviser to to obtain firearms and which eral agents in homicide units in some of the supply cities
a major gun control group are later trafficked into other of police departments across will be more likely to bring Police statistics released this
and would be the first formal cities with more restrictive the U.S., have been deploy- charges in those cases. month showed that fewer
leader since 2015. gun laws. It will also include ing additional crime analysts killings were reported over
New York, Los Angeles, San and are conducting fugitive But if the effort sounds fa- the first six months of 2021
“As you all know, ATF is on Francisco and Washington. sweeps to arrest people who miliar, it is. In 2017, Chi- in Chicago compared with
the front lines of our efforts have outstanding state and cago police, federal agents the same period last year, but
to battle gun violence,” Gar- “We all know our job is to go federal warrants for violent and prosecutors launched a the number of shootings and
land said during a visit to the after those who pull the trig- crimes. similar initiative — the Chi- people shot increased.
agency’s headquarters. “We ger,” Monaco said outside cago Crime Gun Strike Force
are very hopeful that the Sen- ATF. “… But our job is also of Violent crimes, particularly — to try to stem the flow of While crime is rising in many
ate will soon act.” course to go after the sources homicides and shootings, illegal firearms in the city and U.S. cities, violent crime
of those guns, the corridors are up in many cities around curb rampant gun violence. overall remains lower than it
Garland and Deputy Attor- that they travel in and the the country, and the Biden was a decade ago or even five
ney General Lisa Monaco networks that feed those administration has sought to The Justice Department said years ago.
met with agents before trav- guns to the places where they aid communities hamstrung that strike force was formed
eling to Chicago to launch an are doing the most violent by violence. But the initiative in response to a surge in fire- Experts say this year’s spike in
effort there and in four other crime and that is what this begun this week differs from arm violence and its work is crime defies easy explanation
cities to reduce spiking gun series of strike force efforts is other recent federal efforts to continuing, but it has been and point to a number of po-
violence by addressing illegal all about.” address violence, because it is focused locally in Chicago tential causes, including the
trafficking and prosecuting not sending agents or pros- on reducing violence and not coronavirus pandemic, wor-
offenses that help put guns in Besides prioritizing gun ecutors into cities with crime on gun trafficking from oth- ries about the economy and
the hands of criminals. crimes, the strike forces will spikes. Justice officials say er jurisdictions that put the large gatherings after months
embrace intelligence shar- the strike forces are targeted guns in the hands of crimi- of stay-at-home orders.
The effort will include ing and prosecutions across prosecutions meant to be a nals. That’s been the case

Mississippi to file arguments in landmark abortion case

(AP) — The Mississippi on the procedure, including
attorney general’s office is bans on abortion once a fetal
expected to file briefs with heartbeat is detected, as early
the U.S. Supreme Court as six weeks.
on Thursday to outline
the state’s arguments in The Mississippi 15-week
a case that could upend law was enacted in 2018, but
nearly 50 years of court was blocked after a federal
rulings on abortion rights court challenge. The state’s
nationwide. only abortion clinic, Jackson
Women’s Health Organiza-
A 6-3 conservative majority, tion, remains open and offers
with three justices appointed abortions up to 16 weeks of
by former President Donald pregnancy. Clinic director
Trump, said in May that the Shannon Brewer has said
court would consider argu- about 10% of its abortions
ments over a Mississippi law there are done after the 15th
that would ban abortion at week.
15 weeks. Justices are likely
to hear the case this fall and More than 90% of abortions
could rule on it in the spring. in the U.S. take place in the
first 13 weeks of pregnancy, would be viable at 15 weeks.” The Mississippi law would laws designed to challenge
The case challenges rulings according to the Centers for Viability occurs roughly at allow exceptions to the 15- Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Su-
that have prohibited states Disease Control and Preven- 24 weeks, the point at which week ban in cases of medi- preme Court ruling that le-
from restricting abortion be- tion. babies are more likely to sur- cal emergency or severe fetal galized abortion nationwide.
fore a fetus can survive out- vive. abnormality. Doctors found A federal district judge on
side the womb. The Mississippi clinic has in violation of the ban would Tuesday blocked an Arkan-
presented evidence that vi- But the state has argued that face mandatory suspension sas law that would ban most
Abortion rights supporters ability is impossible at 15 viability is an arbitrary stan- or revocation of their medical abortions, ruling that the law
have said that if justices up- weeks, and an appeals court dard that doesn’t take suffi- license. is “categorically unconstitu-
hold the Mississippi law, that said that the state “conced- cient account of the state’s in- tional” because it would ban
could clear the way for states ed that it had identified no terest in regulating abortion. Republican lawmakers in sev- the procedure before the fe-
to enact more restrictions medical evidence that a fetus eral states have been pushing tus is considered viable.