The Boston Globe - 06.08.2019

A6 The Boston Globe TUESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2019

Between the two massacres,
31 people have now died.
Trumptook no questions
and did not repeat his call on
Twitter earlierin the morning
for Republicans and Democrats
to worktogether to strengthen
background checks for prospec-
tive gun buyers.
That outraged Democratic
leaders in Congress, who quick-
ly accusedTrumpof retreating
from moresubstantive action
on gun controlunderpolitical
pressure.
“It tookless thanthree
hours for the president to back
off his call for stronger back-
groundcheck legislation,”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Califor-
nia and and Senator Chuck
Schumerof New York, the mi-
nority leader, said in a state-
ment. House Democrats passed
such a measure in February, but
the Republican-controlled Sen-
ate has not acted on it.
Trump’s first comments,
made in a pair of morning Twit-
ter posts, set somegun control
advocates up for disappoint-
ment. “We cannotlet those
killedin El Paso, Texas, and
Dayton, Ohio,die in vain,” he
wrote. “Likewise for those so se-
riouslywounded. We can never
forget them, and thosemany
who came before them. Repub-
licans and Democrats must
come together and get strong
backgroundchecks,perhaps
marrying... ”
“... this legislation with des-
perately needed immigration
reform.We must have some-
thing good, if not GREAT, come
out of these two tragic events!”
In his somber remarks,
Trump repeated his past en-
dorsement of so-called red flag
laws that would allowfor the
confiscation of guns frompeople
found to be mentally ill and said
mental healthlaws should be
changed to allowfor the invol-
untary confinementof people at
risk of committing violence.He
gave no indication of howhe
wouldpursue such goals.
It was not immediately clear
what other gun control propos-
als Trump was referring to on
Twitter. The House passed
back-to-backbills on firearms
soon after Democrats took con-
trol, voting in February to re-
quirebackgroundchecksfor all
gunpurchasers,including
those at gun shows and on the
Internet, and to extend waiting
periodsfor would-begun pur-
chasersflagged by the existing
instant-checksystem.The Re-
publican-controlled Senate has
not acted on either measure.
Instead of focusing on mea-
suresto limit the sale of fire-
arms,Trumpticked througha
list of proposalsthat Republi-
cans have long endorsed as al-
ternatives.They include un-
specifiedactionto address
“gruesome and grisly video
games” and “a culture that cele-
brates violence.”
Trumpalso warned that the
Internet and socialmediapro-
vide “a dangerous avenueto
radicalize disturbed minds and
perform demented acts.” But

uTRUMP
Continued fromPageA

the president has himself am-

plified right-wing voices online

with histories of racism and

bigotry. Shortly beforethe

shootingbegan in El Paso on

Saturday, Trumpretweeted Ka-

tie Hopkins, a right-wingBrit-

ish political commentator who

has said Islam “disgusts” her

and urged her fellowcitizensto

“armourselves” to “fight back”

against foreign infiltration.

Trumpalsoemphasized

steps to better identify and re-

spondto signs of mental illness

that could lead to violence, re-

peating a familiarconservative

formulation that deemphasizes

the significance of widely avail-

able firearms.

“Mental illnessand hatred

pullsthe trigger, not the gun,”

Trumpsaid.Calling mass

shooters“mentallyill mon-

sters,” he also said he was di-

recting the Departmentof Jus-

tice to propose legislation call-

ing for the death penalty for

“those who commithate crimes

and massmurders.”

Senator Pat Toomey, Repub-

licanof Pennsylvania,praised

what he called a shift in tone for

the president. On a conference

call withreporters,Toomey

saidhe had spoken Monday

morning to Trumpand the

president also expressed “a very

constructive willingness to en-

gage on” the issue of expanded

background checks, long cham-

pioned by the senator.

Trumpdeliveredthe re-

marksat the WhiteHouse after

a weekend at his golf resort in

Bedminster, N.J., where he was

thinlystaffed as the weekend’s

news unfolded. Perusing the

news in isolation, Trump tweet-

ed several expressionsof sym-

pathy, alongwith more combat-

ive shots at the media and his

liberal critics.

By Sunday night, whenhis

son-in-law and senior adviser

Jared Kushnerjoinedhim for

his returnto Washington,

Trump’s aides recognizedthat

he needed to do more. Somead-

visers suggested that back-

ground checkswouldbe an

easy, bipartisan measure to en-

dorse, but Trumpwas uncer-

tain. When early drafts of his

remarks begancirculating, they

did not mention background

checks or immigration, accord-

ing to two people briefed on

them.

So aideswerestartled to dis-

cover that the president, sitting

in the White House residence,

had posted a tweet linking the

two issues.

In a smallmeeting with

Trumpin the residencebefore

the speech, several aides argued

the linkage was a mistake, and

the president dropped boththe

immigration idea and the call

for background checks.

Gun controlgroupsreacted

sharply to Trump’s address.

“Let’s be clear: This is not

about mental health, it’s not

about video games, it’s not

aboutmovies.Those are all

NRA talkingpoints.This is

about easy access to guns,” said

John Feinblatt, presidentof Ev-

erytownfor Gun Safety, a gun

control group.

Trumphas previouslyde-

nouncedracism withscripted

marksthat soundedout of tune

withhis typicalrhetoric. After

the killing of a counterprotester

at a white powerrally in Char-

lottesville, Va., two years ago, he

called white supremacists “re-

pugnant to everything we hold

dear as Americans.”

But thoseremarksfollowed

earlieroff-the-cuff comments

by the president, who had been

criticized for not moreforceful-

ly denouncingthe deadly

“Unite the Right” rally in Char-

lottesville organizedby neo-Na-

zis. Instead he condemned “ha-

tred,bigotry and violence on

many sides, on many sides.”

Trump later declared that the

event had “some very fine peo-

ple on both sides.”

Aidessaid he was referring

to nonviolent protesters de-

fending Southernheritage and

he was angry the news media

had not paid more attention to

left-wing antifa activists who

engaged in violence.

In March, after an avowed

white supremacist killed 51

Muslimworshippersin New

Zealand,Trumpsaid he did not

“really” see a rising threat from

whitenationalism.“It’s a small

group of people,” he added.

The president has also previ-

ouslydeclaredhimself a sup-

porter of stronger gun control,

only to retreat from the issue.

After a gunman killed 17 at a

high school in Parkland, Fla.,

last year, Trumpstartled Re-

publican lawmakers that Febru-

ary whenon live television,he

appeared to embrace compre-

hensive gun control legislation

that would expand background

checks, keep gunsfrommental-

ly ill people, and restrict gun

sales for some youngadults.

But he made little effort to

follow through.

In Texas, law enforcement

officialsarrested PatrickCru-

sius,a 21-year-old whiteman

fromAllen, Texas,which is

abouta 10-hourdrivefromthe

Walmart in El Paso wherehe

opened fire Saturday. In the

manifesto, Crusius said he sup-

ported massshootingsin two

New Zealand mosques.

The gunmanin Dayton,

Connor Betts, 24, fired on pop-

ular nightlifespot witha high-

capacity magazine that can

hold100 roundsof ammuni-

tion. Ninepeople were killed,

including Betts’s sister.

Some of the Democrats cam-

paigning for their party’s presi-

dential nomination condemned

Trump for not calling the El

Paso attack a white supremacist

act of domestic terrorismand

blamedthe WhiteHouse for fu-

elingwhite nationalist senti-

ment.

‘‘He’s beenracist from day

one — before day one whenhe

was questioningwhether Ba-

rack Obama was born in the

United States,’’ said former rep-

resentative Beto O'Rourke, a

2020 presidentialcontender

who representedEl Paso. ‘‘He’s

trafficked in this stuff from the

very beginning, and we are

reaping rightnow what he has

sownand what his supporters

in Congress have sown. We

have to put a stop to it.’’

Former president Obama

posted a statement in which he

called for the nation to ‘‘soundly

reject language coming out of

the mouthsof any of our lead-

ers that feedsa climate of fear

and hatred or normalizesracist

statements.’’ Obama did not

mention the president by

name.

Accordingto FBI statistics,

therehave beeneightmass

shootings since 2017in which

the shooters espoused whitesu-

premacist views.

Material fromtheAssociated

Press wasusedin this report.

Trump demands action, offers few details

MASSSHOOTINGS

ByMatthew Daly

ASSOCIATEDPRESS

WASHINGTON— New-

town. Charleston. Orlando.

Parkland.

And now after massshoot-

ings in El Paso, Texas, and Day-

ton, Ohio, Congress againis

confronted with the question

of what, if anything, lawmak-

ers should do to combat the

scourge of gun violenceafflict-

ing the country.

Whilebothparties are call-

ing for action, the retreat to fa-

miliar political corners was

swift. Democrats demanded

quick approval of gun-control

legislation — someof it already

passedby the House — while

Republicanslooked elsewhere

for answers,focusing on men-

tal health and violent video

games.

WithCongressaway from

Washington for a five-weekre-

cess,and the parties intracta-

bly divided, the oddsappear

stacked in favor of gridlock.

But Democrats and someRe-

publicans said this time can

and should be different.

‘‘While no law will end mass

shootings entirely, it’s timefor

Congress to act to help keep

our communitiessafer,’’ said

Senator Pat Toomey, Republi-

can of Pennsylvania, as he

vowed to again push bipartisan

legislationto expandback-

groundchecksto all commer-

cial firearm sales.

Toomey and his co-sponsor,

Democratic Senator Joe Man-

chinof West Virginia,each

spoke withPresidentTrump

about the backgroundchecks

bill and a separate proposal

making it easier to take guns

away from people believed to

be a danger to themselves or

others.

Trump‘‘showeda willing-

ness to workwithus’’ on back-

ground checks and other mea-

sures, Toomey told reporters in

a conferencecall. ‘‘He was very

constructive.’’

OtherDemocrats put the

burden on Trump, saying he

should demand Senate Majori-

ty Leader Mitch McConnellput

a House-passed bill strengthen-

ing backgroundchecks up for a

vote.

Senate Democratic Leader

Chuck Schumer said the Senate

GOPleaderis blockinggun

safety reformsthat morethan

90 percentof Americans sup-

port. He and House Speaker

Nancy Pelosi said McConnell,a

Kentucky Republican,should

call the Senate into emergency

session to take immediate ac-

tion on the House-passed bill,

whichwouldrequirefederal

background checks for all fire-

armssalesand transfers,in-

cludingthosesold onlineor at

gun shows. Another bill allows

an expanded 10-day review for

gun purchases.

The House approvedthe

bills in February but they have

not come up for consideration

in the Republican-controlled

Senate.

‘‘The House stands ready to

return to pass legislation, if the

Senate sends us backan

amended bipartisan bill or if

otherlegislation is readyfor

House action,’’ Pelosi said in a

letter to colleagues.

‘‘Senate Republicans are

preparedto do our part,’’ Mc-

Connellsaidin a statement

Monday. He spoke withGOP

committee leadersincluding

Judiciary Committee Chair-

manLindsey Grahamand en-

couraged themto lookfor bi-

partisansolutions‘‘to protect

our communitieswithout in-

fringing on Americans’ consti-

tutional rights,’’ McConnell

said.

In a brief WhiteHouse

speech, Trump condemned the

weekend shootings in Texas

and Ohio that left 31 people

dead as barbaric crimes

‘‘against all humanity’’ and

called for bipartisancoopera-

tion to respond to an epidemic

of gun violence.He signaled

oppositionto large-scalegun

control efforts, saying, ‘‘hatred

pulls the trigger, not the gun.’’

‘‘We vow to act withurgent

resolve,’’ Trumpsaid.

Congress

weighs gun

violence

response

ByDeanna Paul
WASHINGTON POST
WhenWilliam Patrick Wil-
liams called his grandmother
from a hotel roomon July 13,
she could hear him fiddling
withthe AK-47riflehe had
bought two days earlier. He told
her he was homicidaland sui-
cidal, accordingto a criminal
complaint filed by the US attor-
ney’s office, and said he wanted
to ‘‘shootup’’ the hoteland then
‘‘commit suicide by cop when
the police arrived.’’
The grandmother, who was
not identified, persuaded the
19-year-old Texan to let her
bring him to Covenant Medical
Centerin Lubbock,Texas,
where he was admitted for psy-
chiatric evaluation.
After a brief hospital stay,
Williams gave Lubbockpolice
his hotel room number and per-
mission to enter, telling them
that he had ‘‘laid out all his
weaponson the bed.’’ Accord-
ing to the complaint, officers re-
covered an AK-47rifle, 17 mag-
azines loaded with ammuni-
tion, a black trench coat, black

tactical pants,fingerlessgloves,

and a black T-shirt withthe

words ‘‘Let ‘Em Come.’’

‘‘We avoided another huge

crisis,’’ said US Attorney Erin

Nealy Cox in a phone interview

Monday, referringto a shooting

at the Dallas federal courthouse

in June.

Williamshad not beenon

any state or federal watch list.

Had his grandmothernot

steppedup, Cox said,‘‘we

wouldn’t have knownhe was

contemplating this.She saved

his life, injury to him and prob-

ably to multiple people’s lives.’’

Williamswasarrested

Thursday and charged with

makingfalsestatementsto a

firearmsdealer, a federal felony

that carries up to five yearsin

prison. On July 11, two days be-

fore the plotted massshooting

Williams,whoaccordingto

court documents was undergo-

ing treatment for depression,

submitted a firearms form and

listed his auntand uncle’s resi-

denceon the document. Al-

thoughthe address matched

Williams’s driver’s license, fed-

eral officials fromthe Bureau of

Alcohol, Tobacco,Firearmsand

Explosivesdiscoveredit was

outdated by a matter of days

and that Williams had moved

out of his auntand uncle’s

home.

His attorney, Laura Wynn,

declinedto comment.

Williams was arrested days

before the massshootings in El

Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio,

massacres that left at least 31

people dead. The case high-

lights some of the challenges

law enforcement face in investi-

gating and prosecuting cases of

suspected domestic terrorism.

Under federal law, The

Washington Post has reported,

suspected domestic terrorists

who are not charged with a spe-

cific act of violence‘‘are typical-

ly charged with other crimes,

such as drug or gun violations,

and many of those cases are

brought in state, not federal,

court, meaning the general

public often never hears that a

domestic terrorism suspect has

beenarrested.’’

Daryl Johnson, a formeran-

alyst for the Departmentof

HomelandSecurity, told the

Post that lawmakers have

avoided aggressivelyaddress-

ing this type of violence, fearing

political backlash.

‘‘We’re in this heightened

state of activity wherewe have

massshootings and bomb

plots,’’ Johnsonsaid,‘‘andyet

there’s no political willpower,

and everybody seems to be

burying their headin the sand

rather than try to tackle the is-

sue.’’

Cox called the issue a ‘‘multi-

stakeholderproblem.

‘‘We responding to an event

that someoneelse has put into

play. We’re lookingat it witha

critical eye, because we know

the burden we have to prove.

That’s not the idealsituation,’’

she said. ‘‘Schools and other in-

dividualsdon’t want to be

wrongor embarrassedby a se-

ries allegations. I’d rather have

someone see something and say

something and [then] be forced

to say, ‘OK, you werewrong, but

you were well intentioned.’ ”

Grandmother’s action credited with avoiding a ‘crisis’

DOUGMILLS/THENEWYORKTIMES

PresidentTrump,withVicePresidentMike Pence,left theWhiteHouselecternafterdeliveringhisstatement.

WilliamPatrickWilliams(left) hadnotbeenon

any watchlist. Had hisgrandmothernotstepped

up,‘wewouldn’thaveknownhewas

contemplatingthis.Shesavedhislife,injury to

him,andprobablyto multiplepeople’slives.’

US ATTORNEY ERINNEALY COX

‘Mentalillnessand

hatredpullsthe

trigger, not the

gun.’

PRESIDENT TRUMP