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Harris is uniquely positioned to combat gun violence in black communities, advocates say

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Kamala Harris, theGrio.com

Gun violence is back in the national highlight following Wednesday’s events deadly shooting at highschool in Winder, GeorgiaThe tragedy that struck Apalachee High School in which 4 people were killed and nine injured has Democrats and gun safety advocates renewed calls for stricter gun laws.

“We need to end this epidemic of gun violence in our country once and for all,” Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, said hours after Wednesday’s shooting at a campaign event in New Hampshire. She added: “It doesn’t have to be this way. It doesn’t have to be this way.”

Supporters see Harris because the one and best candidate who can construct on progress in reducing gun violence, particularly in black communities. Addressing the difficulty is a top concern for black Americans, who’re nearly 3 times as likely to be more likely than white Americans are killed by firearms.

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According to a survey by the gun safety group GIFFORDS, 74% of black voters want stronger gun laws. The survey, a part of a $15 million campaign to highlight gun violence ahead of the Nov. 5 general election, also found that half of all black voters are “very concerned” in regards to the prevalence of gun violence in their communities, compared with 24% of the general voting population.

GIFFORDS, founded by former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who survived a 2011 assassination attempt, has endorsed Harris for president in 2024. Giffords praised Harris’ “steadfast leadership” on the difficulty of gun violence, adding that the Democratic nominee “will save lives.”

McMillan says Harris has been a “key partner” and “gun safety champion,” each as a U.S. senator and now as vice chairman. Harris currently leads the historic White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which is tasked with implementing provisions of the Biden Safer Communities Act, which allocates $250 million for community violence intervention programs.

“We know this works in Black and brown communities,” McMillan said.

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U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to attendees on the Everytown for Gun Safety conference on August 11, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. The conference brings together 1000’s of activists, volunteers and survivors of gun violence to advocate for gun law reform. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

“She’s not just a symbol of possibility — she’s a powerful force shaping policy to keep our families safe,” said Ferrell-Zabala, who noted that Harris tightened gun safety laws as California’s attorney general and, as a U.S. senator, co-sponsored laws to expand background checks and ban violators from possessing guns.

She added: “She truly understands the devastating reality of this uniquely American crisis that disproportionately affects communities of color, and that we must invest in holistic, local solutions that are created by the communities it impacts.”

In her New Hampshire speech, Harris noted that in her “Fight For Our Freedoms” college tour last fall, she asked students on each campus to raise their hand in the event that they “had to endure a shooting drill at any point between kindergarten and 12th grade.”

“I tell you, every time the room was full, and almost every hand went up,” said the vice chairman.

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Harris, together with President Biden, Democrats and advocates, have called on Congress to go further than the Safer Communities Act, which expanded background check requirements and created latest crimes. Gun safety advocates also want to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and establish universal background checks.

According to the GIFFORDS poll, 50 percent of black voters attributed the issue to a scarcity of mental health services, while 49 percent blamed the nation’s gun violence epidemic on weak gun laws. Forty-seven percent of black voters cited quick access to guns, while 40 percent blamed loopholes in gun laws.

“If we have a strong economic program that actually lifts black people out of poverty, we will see gun violence in communities go down,” Powell said.

According to data from the Black Census Organization, black voters’ concerns about gun violence are threefold: community violence, white supremacist violence, and police violence.

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Apalachee High School Shooting, theGrio.com
Students, faculty and community members gather for a vigil following the shooting at Apalachee High School on September 4, 2024 in Winder, Georgia. Four people were reported dead and injured, and a 14-year-old suspect is in custody, according to authorities. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)

While gun violence continues to plague the country, there are signs that the Biden-Harris administration’s work is paying off. Data shows gun violence deaths are on the rise downward in 2024. But supporters say they’re fearful about the implications if former President and Republican Party candidate Donald Trump wins the November election.

“What happens to the (White House) Office of Gun Violence Prevention if, God forbid, Donald Trump is re-elected?” McMillan asked. “We know he will be proud not to address this issue or to try to undo the progress we have made through his alliances with the NRA (and) the gun lobbyists.”

On Thursday, Trump’s vice presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, faced criticism for saying school shootings are a “fact of life.” He also misleadingly claimed that Harris wants to “take guns away from law-abiding citizens.” He and Trump have also called for tighter school security as an answer, although the National Education Association notes that tightening school security doesn’t prevent shootings.

“Donald Trump and JD Vance believe school shootings are a ‘fact of life’ and ‘we have to get over it,’” Harris campaign spokesman Ammar Moussa said, echoing Trump’s earlier remarks after the Iowa school shooting in January.

“Vice President Harris and Governor Walz know that we can take action to keep our children safe and prevent criminals from getting access to guns,” Moussa said. “Donald Trump and JD Vance will always choose the NRA and the gun lobby over our children. That’s the choice in this election.”

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This article was originally published on : thegrio.com

Politics and Current

HegeSeth directs 20% cut to the highest military managerial positions

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The Secretary of Defense Pete HegeSeth on Monday ordered the military lively service to lose 20% of 4 -star general officers, when the Trump administration moves forward with deep cuts, which he thinks will promote performance, but critics that worry may cause more politicized strength.

HegeSeth also told the National Guard to lose 20% of his highest positions and recommend the military to reduce an extra 10% of his general and flagship officers of their forces, which can include one star or official with an equivalent rank of navy.

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The cuts are at the top of over half a dozen of the best general officers that President Donald Trump or HegeSeth released from January, including the chairman of the joint heads of the staff, Gen. CQ Brown Jr. They also released only two women serving as 4 -star officers, in addition to a disproportionate variety of other older officers.

In earlier rounds of shooting, HegeSth said that the eliminations were “a reflection of the president who wants the right people around him to perform the approach to national security that we want to take.”

As the head of the Pentagon, HegeSeth advertised his efforts to upload any programming or leadership, which support diversity in ranks, tried to end members of transgender services and commenced sweeping changes to implement a uniform fitness standard for the fight position.

In the note announcing the cuts on Monday, HegSeth said that they might remove “unnecessary forces to optimize and improve leadership.” He said that the goal was to free the army from “unnecessary bureaucratic layers.”

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Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass. Marine, who served in Iraq and is now in the Armed Service Committee, said he perceived HegeSetha as trying to politicize the army.

“He creates a formal framework to slow down all generals who disagree with him – and president,” said Multon AP in Capitol.

He said that actually every organization can search for performance, but HegeSeth has been clearly clearly expressing its program. “He wrote a book about it. He wants to politicize the army,” said Multon. “So it’s hard to see these cuts in any other context.”

Multon warned against the fall of the soldiers. “It is necessary for our soldiers to understand that they receive constitutional orders, not political orders,” he said, “otherwise you have no democracy, otherwise you have an army that works well for one or another political party.”

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Adding to the confusion in the Pentagon, HegeSeth in recent weeks I actually have released or moved many close advisersstrongly narrowing his inner circle. He also handled questions from each Democrats and Republicans about coping with sensitive information and the use of applications for sending signal messages.

There are about 800 general officers in the army, but only 44 of them are 4 -star general or flag officials. The army has the largest variety of general officers, from 219, including eight 4 -star generals.

Trump stands at Pete HegeSeth among the controversy, but called Lloyd Austin to resign - critics claims that this is a double standard

The variety of positions of the general officer in the army is set by law. Congress members didn’t receive a notification upfront, which they might normally receive in cuts, but in the afternoon they received a “very short warning”, according to a congress worker, which spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details that weren’t made public.

The cuts were first reported by CNN.

The Pentagon is under pressure to reduce expenses and staff as a part of wider cuts of the federal government pushed by the Department of the Government of Trump and Ally Elon Musk.

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HegeSeth last week ordered a sweeping transformation Army to “build a slim, more deadly force”, including connecting or closing the headquarters, shedding outdated vehicles and aircraft, cutting up to 1,000 employees of the headquarters in the Pentagon and transfer of staff to units in the field.

Also last week, the army confirmed that it could be Military Parade for Trump’s birthday In June, as a part of the celebration of the 250th birthday of the service. Officials say it would cost tens of tens of millions of dollars.

—-

Associated Press Writers Lisa Mascaro and Lolita C. Baldor contributed to this report.

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Trump's Defense Cabinet Pete HegeSeth has a history of hostility towards racial justice

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This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Metro Atlanta City of Decatur to start the compensation task group

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The city of Decatur in Metro Atlanta unanimously approved the creation of a compensation task group.

According to Decatur City Commission adopted a resolution On May 5, the 11-person task group will publish a report in three years, including recommendations regarding policy for black city residents.

The message appears a yr after the city leaders signed a contract with Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights to “discover the heritage of racial damage” in Decatur. The alliance managed research work in the field of compensation, organizing community meetings and listening sessions about how racial injustice has financially and systematically hurt these residents.

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Their research described the role of decatur in slavery and segregation, in addition to red and real estate against the black community. Decatur also showed many monuments of the confederation, especially one earlier in the court of Dekalb.

The city not only recognized its oppressive tactics towards its black inhabitants, but additionally apologized for the actions that suppressed their progress.

“The city of Decatur formally recognizes its earlier role in the systemic oppression of people of African origin through enslavement, trafficking in human beings, conviction, discriminatory zones and development, underestimation in African -American communities, school segregation, racist police operation, destruction of African American estate, business and institutions and erosion and erosion and erosion and erosion, population, population population, population, population, population, population and culture – we read in resolution.

The city goals to designate 11 members, with the help of Beacon Hill Black Alliance, in the next 60 days. They will bring a various specialist knowledge group, and members consist of historians, legal experts and youth supporters. Over the next three years, the Task group will develop records regarding the loss of black land and real estate, being attentive to economic resettlement, while interviewing the descendants of those to which these oppressive tactics affected.

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City officials added: “The city is expanding the full and public apology to the black residents of Decatur – Past and Present – and their descendants for its role in consolidating discrimination, pressure, subordination and the resulting damage, drawing on the principles rooted in the white supremacy system.”

The Compensation Task Group may even propose the commemorative projects sponsored by the city, economic tools and other investment strategies and community initiatives to treatment its racist past. This move will happen from other communities, even in the Atlanta Metro, which introduced initiatives regarding the repair of black residents. In the neighboring Fulton, his task group will resume the meeting this yr.

While the plan appears amongst the domestic shuffle of anti-dei attributable to the Trump administration, local leaders remain involved in the same efforts of the judiciary that began before taking office by Trump.

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(Tagstranslate) compensation Task group

This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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Social media reacts to a series of funny faces of George W. Bush during the inauguration of Trump, when Barack Obama jokes that “he could barely behave

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5 Ways Barack Obama and George W. Bush Are Pretty Much The Same

Former President Barack Obama jokingly told the reporter that former President George W. Bush “barely” behaved during the inauguration of President Donald Trump on Monday.

When there have been presidents and other noteworthy VIP guests waited for the USA ceremony to sit in the US Capitol, a member of the staff asked 78-year-old Bush if he “behaved” and 63-year-old Obama at the back to answer on behalf of Bush with “No”.

5 ways of Barack Obama and George W. Bush are almost the same

A brief, viral clip shows briefly looking around the Capitol and smiling at the members of the audience during the inauguration, which the viewers considered funny.

When Obama left the American Capitol Rotunda after the ceremony, the same post reporter quickly asked Obama if Bush behaved and Obama replied: “barely” during a smile.

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The viewers had a day in the field with many Bush faces. One person joked: “Bro was beyond his mind”

The secular behavior of former presidents was, unlike incorrect boos imposed on Obama by Trump’s supporters watching the ceremony from the rally at the Capital One Arena in the center of Washington. Bill and Hillary Clinton and former Vice President Trump Mike Pence was also not spared heavy Boos.

The first lady Michelle Obama was noticeably missing amongst the chosen group of former residents of the White House, who confirmed that she wouldn’t participate on the days before the inauguration.

About her absence, unidentified source he said People: “There is no exaggeration of her feelings about (Trump). She is not one of the plasters on a pleasant face and she pretended that the Michelle protocol does nothing, because she is expected, protocol or its tradition.”

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The source said that Michelle “no longer feels the need to be public” and added that the verbal attacks of Trump on Obama and his offensive rhetoric addressed to colourful people could even be a factor wherein she decided to skip.

In addition to Michelle, every living former president and the first lady was present, including former President Joe Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden, George W. Bush and Laura Bush, in addition to Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Trump’s swearing in the US Capitol for the first time in 40 years, the presidential inauguration took place, ignoring the customary configuration outside the Capitol, wherein 1000’s normally observe from the national shopping mall.

Officials stated that the polar vortex, which brought dangerously low temperatures to the part of the eastern coast, was the most important reason why the ceremony was moved inside.

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The last time the inauguration was moved in the room, when former President Ronald Reagan was sworn in for his second term in 1985.

(Tagstranslate) Barack Obama

This article was originally published on : atlantablackstar.com
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