Holder feels 'frustration and anger' over gun bill defeat

Attorney General Eric Holder expressed frustration and anger Thursday over the Senate's defeat of gun control legislation this week, but vowed he will continue to fight for measures to prevent gun violence. 

“Despite my disappointment and, quite frankly, my frustration and anger at the filibuster in the Senate yesterday that led to the failure to adopt some of those changes, despite the fact that a majority voted for them, I and my colleagues throughout the administration remain committed to standing with the families of Newtown,” said Holder in testimony before the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday. 

In pursuing the administration’s gun control agenda, Holder told lawmakers that the Justice Department could stand to increase the number of cases it prosecutes against people who have been denied federal permission to purchase a gun because they failed to pass a criminal background check.

Many Republicans, such as committee member Rep. Andy Harris (Md.), have long criticized that the Justice Department prosecutes a small fraction of the more than 83,000 people it denies the right to buy a gun. 

Republicans argue that no new background check laws should be implemented until the department steps up its prosecutions of those who are barred from buying guns but attempt to do so anyway.

Holder defended the department’s actions, saying it prioritizes prosecutions based on who it feels would do the most harm to society if left unpunished.

“What we try to do is focus on those people who are most dangerous, who, if they did get a weapon inappropriately, are most likely to do something bad [or] harmful with it,” said Holder.

“With those people who try to get guns and then are not prosecuted, yeah, the number perhaps ought to be a little higher, I don’t know.”

“Not everybody who was denied a gun was in fact dangerous. There are a whole bunch of reasons why,” he said. “There were a host of people who, if they had gotten guns, undoubtedly would have done things that were harmful to their fellow citizens.”

Harris shot back, “But not bad enough to prosecute.” He then switched topics in his line of questioning. 

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AG Holder: ‘We Will Not Sit By’ While Republicans Rig The Electoral College

Attorney General Eric Holder has a solid record on voting rights, and he’s criticized Republican state lawmaker’s efforts to restrict the franchise in the past — at one point comparing voter ID laws to an unconstitutional poll tax. At a speech in New York yesterday, Holder added a new line to his previous attacks on voter suppression, suggesting that DOJ will respond with legal action if any Republican state lawmakers move forward with their proposals to rig the Electoral College:

Long lines are unnecessary. Shortened voting periods are unwise and inconsistent with the historic ideal of expanded participation in the process. Recent proposed changes in how electoral votes are apportioned in specific states are blatantly partisan, unfair, divisive, and not worthy of our nation. Let me be clear again: we will not sit by and allow the slow unraveling of an electoral system that so many sacrificed so much to construct.

There are two versions of the GOP’s election rigging plans, both of which Republicans want to enact exclusively in blue states. One version would allocate electoral votes in several targeted blue states by Congressional district, rather than to the winner of the state as a whole. The other version, which is currently being pushed by Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R), would allocate electoral votes proportionally — so that Mitt Romney would have won a significant chunk of Pennsylvania’s electoral voters even though President Obama carried the state. As with the congressional districts plan, Pileggi’s election-rigging plan would give away electoral votes to Republicans in his blue state, while still keeping all red state electors in GOP hands:

Holder’s suggestion that he would bring the full weight of the Department of Justice down upon any state that tried to steal the White House is certainly welcome, although it alone will not be enough to stop these election-rigging plans. Ultimately, the Justice Department’s ability to protect voting rights depends on a Supreme Court that is not openly hostile to the franchise — and the Roberts Court’s contempt for voting rights pervades their decisions. If the GOP election-rigging plans are to be defeated, it will require citizens in states like Pennsylvania raising their voice in outrage at this blatant attempt to steal American democracy.

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Vice President Biden and Attorney General Holder Announce Grants to Help Reduce Domestic Violence Homicides

The White House

Office of the Vice President

12 Cities and Counties Receive Grants as Part of New Evidence-Based Prevention Initiative

WASHINGTON, DC – Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder today announced grants to twelve programs across the country to target the urgent need to reduce domestic violence homicides.  On average, three women a day die as a result of domestic violence.   Research shows that women whose partner threatens them with a gun or other weapon are 20 times more likely to subsequently be murdered than other abused women.  Moreover, children, coworkers, neighbors and police officers are also killed as a result of domestic violence. From 2009 to 2012, 40 percent of mass shootings—those with four or more victims killed—started with the shooter targeting their girlfriend, wife or ex-wife. 

In total, the Department of Justice will award $2.3 million to twelve sites across the country as part of the new Domestic Violence Homicide Prevention Demonstration Initiative (DVHP Initiative).  The DVHP Initiative, created by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), helps state and local jurisdictions reduce domestic violence homicides by effectively identifying potential victims and monitoring high-risk offenders.  The DVHP Initiative is modeled after programs in Massachusetts and Maryland, where the use of coordinated teams of law enforcement, prosecutors, health professionals and victims services significantly reduced the domestic violence homicide rate. 

“Every single day in America, three women die at the hands of their boyfriend, or their husband, or their ex-husband. Many of these women have been threatened or severely abused in the past. We know what risk factors put someone in greater danger of being killed by the person they love – and that also means we have the opportunity to step in and try to prevent these murders. That’s why these grants are so important. They’ll help stop violence before it turns deadly,” said Vice President Biden.

“Domestic violence is a devastating crime – and it claims far too many lives each and every day,” said Attorney General Holder.  “With today’s grant announcement, we are strengthening our ability to fight back more effectively – and aggressively – than ever before.  And we’re supporting the kinds of evidence-based domestic violence homicide prevention models that will allow us to reliably predict potentially lethal behavior, take steps to stop the escalation of violence and save lives.”

The Vice President and Attorney General announced the grant awards at the Montgomery County Executive Office Building in Rockville, MD, where they were joined by dozens of Maryland law enforcement officers who have been at the forefront of domestic violence homicide prevention efforts in that state.

“While the statistics seem overwhelming, we are not helpless in the face of these terrible crimes,” said Acting Director of the Office on Violence Against Women Bea Hanson. “We hope this evidence-based initiative to reduce domestic violence homicide is a breakthrough in preventing murders and serious injuries across the country.”

The new DVHP Initiative is based on an assessment tool that researchers have identified that can be used to reliably recognize women who may be in fatally abusive relationships.  Attempted strangulation, threats with weapons, sexual assault and obsessively jealous and controlling behavior are among the markers of particularly lethal abusers.  Once at-risk victims are identified, law enforcement, prosecutors, courts and service providers can take action to protect them and their families. 

Since passage of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 1994, annual rates of domestic violence have dropped by more than 60 percent, but more work remains to reduce the most serious of this violence.  OVW is partnering with the National Institute of Justice to rigorously monitor the implementation of the initiative and evaluate its outcomes. OVW is also working with national experts to provide technical assistance to the demonstration sites. 

The demonstration sites, each receiving one-year awards ranging from $100,658 to $200,000, are: Contra Costa County, CA; Miami-Dade County, FL; Palm Beach County, FL; Rockdale County, GA; Winnebago County, IL; City of Boston, MA; Borough of Brooklyn, NY; Westchester County, NY; Pitt County, NC; Cuyahoga County, OH; City of North Charleston, SC; and City of Rutland, VT.  After the 12-month assessment phase, up to six of the demonstration sites will be selected to continue a three-year implementation phase.

Click HERE for the fact sheet the Obama Administration’s commitment to reducing domestic violence homicides.

Click HERE for the fact sheet on the link between common sense efforts to reduce gun violence and preventing domestic violence homicides.

Director of the National Economic Council Gene Sperling outlines the economic case for a fair, effective and common-sense immigration system that strengthens our economy and the middle class.

The First Lady met today with the Business Roundtable to talk about Joining Forces, her initiative that supports veterans and military families.

As part of our Sunshine Week series, Macon Phillips discusses We the People.

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