Just one day after 19 children and two teachers were gunned down in the second worst school mass shooting in US history, Senator Cory Booker slammed Republicans for what he described as years of efforts to effectively neuter the federal agency responsible for enforcing the nation’s gun regulations.
Speaking at a Senate judiciary committee confirmation hearing for Steve Dettelbach — President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) — Mr Booker recalled visiting Washington when he was mayor of Newark, New Jersey and being told about the myriad “riders” — provisions inserted into federal appropriations bill to restrict how the agency can use federal funds — that prevent ATF from “using modern policing”.
