President Joe Biden will announce the creation of the first-ever federal office of gun violence prevention on Friday, fulfilling a key demand of gun safety activists as legislation remains stalled in Congress, according to two people with direct knowledge of the White House’s plans.

Stefanie Feldman, a longtime Biden aide who previously worked on the Domestic Policy Council, will play a leading role, the people said.

Greg Jackson, executive director of the Community Justice Action Fund, and Rob Wilcox, the senior director for federal government affairs at Everytown for Gun Safety, are expected to hold key roles in the office alongside Feldman, who has worked on gun policy for more than a decade and still oversees the policy portfolio at the White House. The creation of the office was first reported by The Washington Post.

  • RotaryKeyboard@lemmy.ninja
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    1 year ago

    Oh, man. Can you imagine the misery of being appointed to this post? Literally half of the government would hate and despise you and would look for ways to undercut you just to have an extra talking point while they stand in the hall talking to Fox News. And to top it off, what could you actually do to affect change? I sympathize with the poor workers of this office.

    • ColorcodedResistor@lemm.ee
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      I suspect anyone worth their weight in political salt should be cognizant of the statement you made, or at least, we hope so. Do we get a Shark who uses his/her post to create new and exciting ways to fuck the American people again? Or do we get a dunce/mouthpiece that just goes with the lobby money flow?

      Violent crime doesn’t end with guns, nor did it start with them. we humans are continually creating new and insane ways to vaporize each other. If we ever figure out magnetic/kinetic weaponry or personalized laser rifles like in Akira then we are gonna wish we stopped at guns, sadly.

      but this post goes literally against the ~500 billion USD America spends on its military. so…what do?

          • ColorcodedResistor@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            check out the nuremberg trials. the statement “I was just doing my orders” “it was just a job” did not pardon those who murdered all the jews.

            this is not about guns this is about culpability. i want you to tell me the plan for removing guns from this world, without getting upset. tell me how we do that.

            if you don’t have a direct answer, guess what. guns are here to stay for your entire life, mine too. and no that doesn’t mean we do nothing ,it means being mad about it doesn’t change things. actions, strategies, do.

            • pips@lemmy.film
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              Your response to someone noting that working for this office has inherent risks due to gun nuts existing and someone responding with “it’s just a job” is to compare gun regulations to the Holocaust. You just followed up a sentence where you said this isn’t about guns with two questions about guns. I think you either don’t understand what the Nazis did or you’re arguing in bad faith. My guess is both.

              Also, I don’t have to have a solution to gun violence to point out you’re making a stupid and dangerous argument. Calling people who work on gun safety Nazis in response to someone noting that gun nuts make their job dangerous proves the point.

        • bobman@unilem.org
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          I don’t think you understand.

          People saying Nazis were just doing they’re job are doing that to alleviate them of any responsibility of their work.

          I’m saying it’s just a job to highlight how these people probably don’t care about what they’re doing so long as they’re getting paid. As in, who cares if a bunch of strangers hate you so long as you’re getting paid. That’s actually par for the course for a lot of work.

          • ColorcodedResistor@lemm.ee
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            It’s more than a job. its power and authority and can and will likely be wielded to do harm. if the appointed representative is a human being, great! Awesome! but…when in history do we get the exceptionally good person to the average political grifter?

  • Iwasondigg@lemmy.one
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    Whoo boy, that’s gonna set off the crazies. And finally Rick Scott will know which Federal agency he wants to eliminate when asked the question. I don’t see this as particularly effective or constructive going into an election year. But what do I know?

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      If they focus on policy that isn’t gun control it will help. If they only exist to push gun control you’re prolly right. Either way, gun stores will prolly win when the nutters go buy more rifles.

  • Moobythegoldensock@lemm.ee
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    “After months of research, we have written a 1000 page report proving the solution is fewer guns.”

    Republicans: “MORE GUNS! ARM EVERYONE!”

    • Throwaway@lemm.ee
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      Well yeah. When you start with the tool, the solution is always the tool.

      You’ll notice that its not about murder or saving lives. Its gun violence.

  • SheeEttin@lemmy.world
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    From the WaPo article:

    The new office will report up through Stefanie Feldman, the White House staff secretary and a longtime Biden policy aide who has worked on the firearms issue for years, the people said. Feldman previously worked on the Domestic Policy Council and still oversees the gun policy portfolio at the White House.

    So it’s going to be a purely policy role within the White House? Well that’s disappointing. I was hoping it was going to be somewhere in HHS, or at least DoJ.

    • ryathal@sh.itjust.works
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      That would likely require explicit funding. Yes this is just to make a headline. He could actually direct the ATF to follow up on straw purchases, improve data sync with NICS and other federal databases if he wanted to do something meaningful.

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    Great idea, but I do not have faith that this will be well executed.

    If the democrats had the same drive as their republican counterparts, this would be a better country.

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      As expected every time guns are brought up in a political context, the comments are already full of people talking past each other while ignoring the real issues.

      It is exactly as difficult to get rid of guns in this country as it would be to get rid of the electoral college, and the electoral college has done thing like lead directly to the covid pandemic being far worse than it had to be because Trump fired the guy we had in position to warn everyone if China leaked a pandemic.

      Instead of discussing that, all you’re going to find in a thread like this is back and forth about getting rid of guns (nearly impossible) or decrying the department as redundant (the DHS is proof this is also meaningless) or the like.

      • IchNichtenLichten@lemmy.world
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        If something is not realistically achievable in the short term, that means we shouldn’t be able to talk about it?

        I disagree. If we limit discourse only to the immediately achievable we stop talking about how things should be, and how best to get there. Sometimes change happens overnight, sometimes it takes decades. It’s worth talking about.

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        1 year ago

        Most people are not asking to “get rid of guns.” Most people are asking for restrictions that keep people safe, not least our school children, and a ban on military-style weapons like AR-15s. That’s not unreasonable nor impossible.

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          AR-15s are functionally the same as the majority of rifles, they’re semi automatic. Calling AR-15s military style immediately shows you know almost nothing about guns.

          We’d have a better return on our investment banning handguns which are used in more deadly non-police shootings by a whole fucking lot.

          • GiddyGap@lemm.ee
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            Yeah, I’d call AR-15s military style. It’s ok if you don’t. No matter what you call them, it’s idiotic that random people run around with them.

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              Can you define what about them makes you consider them military style?

              And what are you thinking of when you say “random people running around with them”, because legally anyone who purchases them is required to pass an FBI background check to make sure they’re not a felon, among other things.

              • GiddyGap@lemm.ee
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                I consider semi-automatic and automatic firearms to be military style.

                By “random” I just mean anyone who can pass a background check. The easy access to weapons is what stands out in American society when it comes to gun violence.

                • astral_avocado@lemm.ee
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                  I consider semi-automatic and automatic firearms to be military style.

                  So just to be clear, that’s 99% of guns, and automatic is essentially already out of the equation since nobody makes or sells those anymore because of ATF regulations. Virtually all modern guns are semi automatic.

                  You do know AR-15s that consumers can buy are already not automatic right?

        • PopcornTin@lemmy.world
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          The difficult problem is the ones who decide to do bad things with guns, don’t exactly have much respect for the law. Pass whatever restrictions you want, if someone wants to shoot anyone badly enough, they will find a way.

          • pips@lemmy.film
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            But that’s not really a good reason to not have regulations. “People are going to steal your shit if they want to badly enough” does not mean theft shouldn’t be a crime.

          • GiddyGap@lemm.ee
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            Sure, they may find a way, but if it’s harder to find that way, there’s a chance they’ll either change their minds or use a tool that’s less lethal and will kill fewer.

            The US has a unique problem in the Western world, and what sticks out is access to weapons.

        • lightnsfw@reddthat.com
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          IMO a more robust mental and other healthcare system and social services would go a lot farther in preventing these kinds of things. Identifying and fixing/containing the people that are so deranged that they would kill others would stop most killings and the kinds of things that lead up to it. Most of the gun crime is a symptom of a much larger problem of people with little to no support lashing out.

          • GiddyGap@lemm.ee
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            You think Americans are just that much more mentally ill than people in every other developed country on earth? Of course not. The one thing that stands out in the US is easy access to weapons.

            • lightnsfw@reddthat.com
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              Yes I do but that’s beside the point. The vast majority of gun owners never do anything criminal with them. It’s people with mental health problems who snap or criminals who’re using them to perpetrate other crimes (many of whom would probably not be criminals if they had proper social support.

              Countries with strict gun control haven’t solved the root of the problem. People can still be dangerous without guns and if we can’t trust someone to own a gun we really shouldn’t trust them to have free reign to interact with society without supervision either.

      • johnthedoe@lemmy.ml
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        It definitely feels like a lost cause banning guns. It’s part of the culture. When we banned guns in Australia after one single mass shooting, I don’t believe Australia had nearly as much of a gun loving culture. It was still seen as a tool in the country side for hunting and such. I don’t know the answer to changing culture. It’ll take generations possibly. Smoking was seen like an everyday thing in the 60s. Now it’s disgusting. Perception can change eventually.

      • Lemminary@lemmy.world
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        Wait, who’s talking about banning guns? Nobody in the thread has mentioned it and I did try to read all the comments. I even did a quick ctrl+f for keywords just to make sure and found nothing.

  • chiliedogg@lemmy.world
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    The only reason the GOP is as powerful as it is is because the Dems are so fucking terrible at playing the damn game. Pick your battles. Good idea or not - Biden is trying real hard to lose this election.

    The biggest single-issue voting blocks in the county are pro-lifers and pro-gun people. Even if most people want stronger gun control and better abortion access, they don’t base the entirety of their votes on those positions. It’s not like Dems or moderates who are anti-gun would vote for Trump or Biden were pro-gun.

    The only time being pro gun-control is advantageous is in a primary, which Biden doesn’t have to worry about. In the general election it’s entirely detrimental to a campaign.

    • Carnelian@lemmy.world
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      Pedophiles don’t care about the law either it seems, so would you say we should just get rid of all laws pertaining to that?

    • HeartyBeast@kbin.social
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      heres the thing though - criminals arent known for caring about laws or federal offices

      Here’s the thing though - putting basic steps in place to make it more difficult for criminals to get a gun isn;t a bad idea.

      • RaoulDook@lemmy.world
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        That’s why we already have federal background checks required for all retail purchases of guns. Requiring those for private sales is basically impossible to enforce since anyone can sell anything they want in private as long as they don’t create a record of it.

    • Silverseren@kbin.social
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      That’s just blatantly false. Actual scientific study on gun violence has found that gun restrictions, such as the assault weapons ban, had meaningful reductions in gun crime in the years following its implementation.

      Most guns used in crimes are obtained legally.

      • Lemminary@lemmy.world
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        Exactly. Didn’t that one kid in that one shooting walk into the shop and ask for tons of ammo and nobody asked questions before cashing him out? I forget which shooting that was, but I could almost bet that applies to more than one school shooter at this point.

    • shalafi@lemmy.world
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      If the Dems would drop their anti-gun fight, they would win every election in a landslide and we wouldn’t have the ridiculous government we have now.

      • Lightborne@lemmy.world
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        If Americans would stop fetishizing guns to the point of sacrificing children to the altar of their bang-bang toys, we could actually have a respectable society.

        • bobman@unilem.org
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          Nah. I’ve thought about this.

          If they couldn’t use guns, they’d use cars. If they can’t use cars, they’d focus on torture. i.e. instead of trying to kill as many people as possible, just try to make whoever you catch suffer as much as possible before pulling the plug.

          These are all band-aids to avoid addressing the real problem: those who feel they have nothing to live for so they take their anger out on society.

          The solution to the problem is reducing the disparity in wealth. It won’t eliminate all of them, but it will severely reduce them. This is why nobody is talking about it. The ruling class has been successful, again, in getting us to squabble over bullshit to avoid addressing the real issue, which is always the money.

          • shalafi@lemmy.world
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            School shooting started because of exactly one reason: Columbine. If those monsters had got their pipe bomb working, that would be the weapon of choice.

            There were plenty of weapons in circulation before Columbine, and school shooting were not a thing. I’m 52, I remember.

            • bobman@unilem.org
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              Bombs are not people’s weapons of choice because they require some knowledge to build and pose a substantial risk to the amateur builder.

              • ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I was a… shall we say precocious, child. I made a lot of bombs in my back yard lol, started when I was like 11. Illegal as fuck but really fun, only made small firecracker type stuff but all I needed to do to scale that up was math and use metal instead of cardboard, I had already learned you needed a bit of air in the tube for the mix to ignite, etc. And all of this was before the Boston Marathon bombing showed us the power of a pressure cooker from Kohls, some nails from Home Depot, and a few chemicals I won’t list here but that can be easily found online/purchased in stores. Not gonna give out recipes on lemmy though lol, just saying, it isn’t as hard as you think, and as long as you aren’t Jack Parsons you’ll be ok.

                (Warning: do not attempt at home, I am not responsible for your mistakes or actions, nor the government’s in arresting you for this illegal shit. And it goes without saying but if you do look any of this shit up, don’t use it to harm stuff, even “for the greater good,” just have fun with small booms, they’re fun enough on their own! Science!)

                • bobman@unilem.org
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                  it isn’t as hard as you think, and as long as you aren’t Jack Parsons you’ll be ok.

                  I mean, there’s stories coming out all the time of people blowing themselves up when making their own bombs. It’s a risk most people wouldn’t want to take if there are other options.

          • Lightborne@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            I’ve thought about this.

            This ought to be good.

            If they couldn’t use guns, they’d use cars

            LOL

          • SeaJ@lemm.ee
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            If they couldn’t use guns, they’d use cars. If they can’t use cars, they’d focus on torture. i.e. instead of trying to kill as many people as possible, just try to make whoever you catch suffer as much as possible before pulling the plug.

            Cars are quite a bit slower and a hell of a lot more obvious than a gun. They might switch to that (they have not in other countries) but that would still certainly result in fewer deaths overall. Not sure why they would possibly switch to torture. That one does not seem to have any basis in reality.

            You are correct that wealth disparity is one of the big parts of the puzzle. The other big party of the puzzle is how easy it is to get a gun due to how many there are floating around. Things like straw purchases being rampant means that it is pretty easy to obtain an illegal gun. Gun registration would help a bit with that as well as something like requiring a current gun permit to purchase new guns.

            • bobman@unilem.org
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              They might switch to that (they have not in other countries)

              https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Toronto_van_attack

              Not sure why they would possibly switch to torture.

              Because if they can’t kill a lot of people but still want to cause as much harm as possible, torturing is the next best option. That’s how terrorism works. If you’re innocent to the world you live in, this might not make sense.

              • SeaJ@lemm.ee
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                Let me know when any other country has as many car attacks per capita as there are shootings per capita in the US. I’ll wait. Cherry picking one incident means jack shit.

                Most shootings are not to inflict the most damage. There is no more torture in countries with stricter gun laws than there is here in the US. If you have some evidence that there is, feel free to share it but until then all you have is ridiculous scare mongering horse shit.

            • ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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              Things like straw purchases being rampant

              Straw purchases are already illegal and punishible by a considerable prison sentence already, can’t make it double illegal. Registration won’t help, nor will purchase permits (which historically, as in last year, NC had those and got rid of them when the sherrifs, who got to choose who owned handguns in their counties, decided black people couldn’t own them. 60% of Pistol Purchase Permit denials were to black people) as they can both be circumvented by simply reporting the gun stolen when you sell it (and also PPPs are racist as fuck, even if that isn’t the intent that is how they were actively being used in NC, and that was the intent because it was a Jim Crowe era law. The potential for abuse is too great.)

              • SeaJ@lemm.ee
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                I realize that straw purchases are already illegal. The issue is that it is difficult to figure out who is doing straw purchases. The way to do that would be registration which absolutely would help. It’s a bit hard to find out who is doing the straw purchases without much of a trail.

                And you do realize you can do permitting without it being racist, right? Sit through a safety class and do a test if you are looking to purchase a new one in a different year. You only get racism when the process is not objective.

                • ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                  The way to do that would be registration which absolutely would help

                  “Help” maybe a little, but it’s trivial to bypass by reporting the gun as stolen or making it yourself, which is easier to do than you’d assuredly like to think (you can learn how in about a week, and that’s slow, and then they take like a few hours to make once you know how.) It won’t help as much as addressing the root causes.

                  And you do realize you can do permitting without it being racist, right?

                  Yes, but have you been to America recently? Good luck.

                  Sit through a safety class and do a test if you are looking to purchase a new one in a different year

                  Why? Gun safety doesn’t change year upon year, Cooper’s four rules have been the same since like 1970 and every private range in the country makes you watch videos teaching it before you get or renew your membership. Even subscribing to your theory, you’d only need to do it once for your first purchase. Year over year mental health checks would be another story, but they’d be useless tied to purchases and on top of that, they’re abelist.

  • Shadywack@lemmy.world
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    Hopefully he can stay awake and read the teleprompter, and do exactly as he’s told.

    • Lemminary@lemmy.world
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      Honest question: has he ever fallen asleep at the job? Because it seems that Trump came up with the moniker and everybody started pretending that he had

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        Everytime I see footage of him lately, he doesn’t know where he is, where he’s suppose to be, and he’s obviously asking what he’s suppose to do.

          • Shadywack@lemmy.world
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            Which mountain of videos on Youtube would you like first? The ones from CNN or all the right wing nutjobs channels like “Don’t walk, run”?

            Here’s a good CNN video where Anderson Cooper is salty that Republicans are calling it out, but are we seriously pretending that it’s normal for Presidents to parrot whatever shit gets handed to them?

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKOusB4FVjU

              • Shadywack@lemmy.world
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                If only anything we said or did mattered, and we could’ve had a quality candidate actually win nominations for either party. I know where I was, and that was actively campaigning for Sanders only to watch the superdelegates fuck us all over despite him leading in popular votes.

                We watched it happen on the Republican side too back in 2008 with Ron Paul. So I don’t think it really matters where any “normal people” are when we get fuckheads like Trump and absent minded grandpa’s like Biden. It seems like we already knew, and picked the right candidates, and just get fucked over anyway. 'Merica