ATF lacks funding to crack down on Philadelphia's gun violence crisis, advocacy group says
PHILADELPHIA - President Biden's visit to New York on Thursday was intended to heal and talk about gun violence and trafficking that has led to mayhem in the city.
Officials say Philadelphia is obviously dealing with the same problems.
Now the question remains whether the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is up to the work of cutting gun violence in the city.
Simone Rodgers, 15, lost her life in a spray of gunfire in a city park last summer.
Her grieving mother fears gun violence will strike again.
"My children are good kids. Everybody's are good kids. We shouldn't have to live like this, it's fearful," Lendale Rodgers said during a press conference with local and federal lawmakers late last month.
Along with police, it’s the role of the ATF to combat gun violence. The leader of a national gun safety group says ATF is not up to the job.
Robin Lloyd of Giffords, founded by former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords seriously injured in a shooting, says ATF does not have the resources to aggressively disrupt the flow of illegal firearms and hold gun traffickers responsible.
"More needs to happen on the front end so we prevent these firearms from even getting into the hands of people who shouldn’t have them," Lloyd tells FOX 29's Jeff Cole.
Matthew Varisco leads the Philadelphia office of the ATF. He argues his agency works closely with police to pull crime guns off the streets, but admits ATF falls short on yearly inspections of Pennsylvania's 3,100 federal firearms dealers.
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"We can’t do that based on the amount of manpower that we have," Varisco said.
Instead, Varisco says his agents look closely at dealers who’ve sold firearms later used in crimes.
Lloyd says that’s too late.
"If we’re always looking behind us, and solving things after the fact, we’re never going to get out in front of the gun violence epidemic that we're currently facing - particularly as it relates to illegal firearms," Lloyd explained.
"What we do know is the majority of firearms are purchased outside of the city and brought into the city of Philadelphia," Varisco added.
Varisco says those guns are often obtained through 'straw purchases' - when a legal buyer purchases weapons for someone barred by law, like a felon.
Philadelphia ATF’s budget for investigations has remained flat for the last three fiscal years, while gun violence has climbed.
Lloyd argues that’s a big problem.
"We’re provided that money from Washington, D.C., from headquarters, and we do the best we can with what we’re provided," Varisco said.
Lendale Rodgers, Simone’s Mom, listened recently to politicians press for a billion dollar program to fight violent crime.
She’s not holding her breath.
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