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by IANS |
Washington, Feb 4 (IANS) US President Joe Biden has announced a new set of actions aimed at reducing gun violence across the country.
The Biden administration will crack down on illegal flow of guns, help prosecutors bring cases against those using "ghost guns" -- unserialised and untraceable firearms -- to commit crimes, and pursue unlawful gun sellers, among other things, Xinhua news agency quoted the White House as saying.
Biden paid a visit to New York City on Thursday afternoon, where he called for more funding for community policing and law enforcement agencies.
"The answer is not to abandon our streets," said the President during an event at the headquarters of the City of New York Police Department in Lower Manhattan.
"The answer is not to defund the police.... It's to give you the tools, the training, the funding to be partners, to be protectors."
Biden was joined on the visit by US Attorney General Merrick Garland, as well as Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
"Gun violence is not just a problem for New York City or New York State," Hochul tweeted. "It's a national crisis."
Gun deaths have also spiked in the US over the last two years.
The US reported 20,794 gun violence deaths in 2021, up from 19,490 deaths in 2020 and 15,474 fatalities in pre-pandemic 2019, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
There have been 1,554 gun violence deaths in the United States so far this year, the data showed.
