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NYC mayoral candidate Eric Adams to meet Biden on reducing gun violence

Courtney Subramanian, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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WASHINGTON – Eric Adams, a former police captain who clinched the New York Democratic mayoral nomination last week, is set to meet President Joe Biden at the White House on Monday to discuss theadministration's plan to curb a nationwide surge in gun violence.

The Brooklyn borough president, joined by the mayors of Washington, D.C., and San Jose, Calif., as well as several law enforcement officials, will meet with Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland about Biden's crime prevention strategy, which includes targeting rogue gun dealers and tracking illegal firearms. The plan also encourages cities to use direct funds from the president's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package to invest in more public safety initiatives, including hiring more police officers and community violence prevention programs.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams makes an announcement about early voting, in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Sept. 1, 2020.
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams makes an announcement about early voting, in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Sept. 1, 2020.

Adams, a Black former police captain who described himself "the new face of the Democratic Party," prevailed in the mayoral primary race largely by campaigning on public safety and denouncing liberal slogans such as "defund the police, while also promising to rein in police misconduct and abusive policing. The mayoral hopeful's hard-on-crime message is one that some Democrats say will be key in next year's midterm elections.

Gun violence has soared in 2021

Biden has vowed to crack down on gun violence as the homicide rate in more than 30 U.S. cities increased by 24% during the first three months of this year compared with the same period last year, according to the National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice. Gun-related deaths are up by about 21%, according to the report, but violent crime overall is lower than it was five or 10 years ago.

Related: President Biden's promises on policing reform: What the administration has accomplished

But the president and Democrats have faced political headwinds on Capitol Hill where Republicans have blocked the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, introduced in Congress months after Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin was arrested for kneeling on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes, even after Floyd lost consciousness. The president has also called for Congress to reinstate the assault weapons ban and pass legislation to close loopholes in gun background checks — measures that have similarly faced Republican resistance.

Before the meeting, the White House released a memo by Domestic Policy Adviser Susan Rice and other officials detailing how several cities have so far used their $350 billion portion of the COVID-19 rescue plan funds toward public safety initiatives. Philadelphia is spending $1.3 million to expand violence interruption programs and $2 million toward a transitional jobs program while Tucson, Ariz., plans to invest $7 million in "community safety, health and wellness, and violence interruption programs, according to the memo.

More: 'Patience is growing thin': Activists fear Biden's anti-crime strategy could overshadow police reform efforts

More: Legislators call for ATF to crack down on problem gun dealers, citing USA TODAY/The Trace investigation

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NYC mayoral candidate Eric Adams joins Biden, others on public safety

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