The Department of Justice stated that these new strike forces will be rolled out within 30 days in order “to help reduce violent crime by addressing illegal gun trafficking in significant firearms trafficking corridors” that facilitate the movement of firearms into major cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.
“As the President has repeatedly said, we are experiencing an epidemic of gun violence in this country. This violence robs us of loved ones and causes life-altering physical injuries,” the White House declared in a recently published statement. “It causes lasting trauma, with cascading consequences for children, families, and communities. It steals our freedom, our sense of belonging and security, and has ripple effects for our economy.”
According to Liz George of American Military Forces, “The forces will be a coordinated effort between U.S. Attorneys and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), as well as state and local law enforcement.”
“Working with our local partners to tackle violent crime is one of the Justice Department’s most important responsibilities,” declared Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in a statement. “Today, the department is taking another concrete step to address violent crime and illegal firearms trafficking. Our firearms trafficking strike forces will investigate and disrupt the networks that channel crime guns into our communities with tragic consequences. This effort reflects our shared commitment to keep communities safe.”
On top of that, the administration is working to establish “zero tolerance for rogue gun dealers that willfully violate the law.” These new zero tolerance policies will consist of revoking gun dealers’ federal licenses who break federal law.
George expanded on what the ATF considers to be as behavior that merits license revocation for gun dealers:
The administration said the ATF will revoke gun dealers’ licenses the first time they willfully violate federal law, including transferring guns to a prohibited individual, failing to run a background check, falsifying records, failing to respond to an ATF tracing request and refusing to permit ATF to conduct an inspection in violation of the law.
“In addition, ATF will notify every firearms dealer whose license is revoked about how to lawfully transfer any remaining inventory, as well as the potential criminal consequences of continuing to engage in the business of buying and selling guns without a license,” the administration announced. “The prior Administration stopped this important notification practice that helps deter future unlawful activity.”
