Justice Department Awarding $231 Mln To States To Implement Projects To Reduce Gun Violence

The U.S. Justice Department has announced a funding of more than $231 million for 49 states and territories to address the growing threat of gun violence in the country.

This funding will be used to implement gun safety law that President Joe Biden signed last year.

The funding, as part of the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program, will be utilized to implement crisis intervention projects like red-flag programs, mental health and substance-use treatment courts and veteran’s treatment courts as well.

This investment in community safety will fund state crisis intervention court proceedings, including extreme risk protection order (ERPO) programs that work to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people.

The President has long championed red-flag laws, which could potentially have stopped shooters in Parkland and other tragedies. These laws allow family members, healthcare providers, school officials, and law enforcement officers to seek a court determination that a person is a danger to themselves or others, and then temporarily prevent that person from accessing a firearm.

On Tuesday, which marks five years since a gunman took the lives of 14 students and 3 educators at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Biden addressed the epidemic of gun violence that continues to devastate American communities.

Also, the country is mourning three Michigan State University students who were killed in a shooting incident Monday night.

Biden called on Congress to act common-sense gun law reforms, including requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers who knowingly put weapons of war on the streets.

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