Del. Senator Backs President's Executive Actions On Gun Control
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - US Attorney General Loretta Lynch received both praise and criticism this past week at a Capitol Hill hearing on President Obama's executive order on gun control. During her appearance, Delaware US Senator Chris Coons discussed how to combat gun violence in Wilmington.
Attorney General Lynch says the moves to expand background checks are consistent with the Constitution, by clarifying existing laws already on the books.:
'we will be better prepared to keep guns out of the wrong hands in the first place.'
The hearing was held by Alabama Senator Richard Shelby's subcommittee. He came out firing about the right to bear arms.:
'i'm concerned that the president is slowly chipping away at our second amendment rights.'
Senator Coons was encouraged by what he heard.:
'you want to focus on the smart, effective enforcement of our existing guns laws.'
Coons is pleased to see more resources to trace guns and casings recovered from crime scenes.:
'better access to ballistics tools has improved our homicide case clearance rate in Wilmington from 10% two years ago to 50%.'
The initiative includes hiring 200 ATF and 230 FBI personnel, many of whom will work with local and state task forces in communities plagued by violent crime.
Coons pushed the Justice Department to select Wilmington as a designated city in DOJ's Violence Reduction Network, in 2014. Other cities include Camden, Newark, Chicago and Detroit, all of which have violence levels that far exceed the national average.
