The Boston Globe - 08.08.2019

THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2019 The Boston Globe The Nation A

BySheryl Gay Stolberg
NEWYORKTIMES
WASHINGTON— Senator
Chuck Schumer, the Democrat-
ic leader, put the brakes on Re-
publicans’ quick embrace of
“red flag” laws as a responseto
last weekend’s gun violence,
saying on Wednesday that any
gun-related legislation moving
through the Senate must be ac-
companied by a House bill re-
quiringbackgroundcheckson
all gun purchasers.
Red flag laws allow the au-
thorities to obtain a special type
of protective order — known as
an extremerisk protection or-
der, or ERPO— to removeguns
frompeople deemed danger-
ous. Republicans, including
President Trump,are coalesc-
ing aroundthe concept, and
Senator Lindsey Graham,the
South Carolina Republican who
chairs the Senate Judiciary
Committee, is drafting a bill to
developa federal grant pro-
gram to helpstates passand
carry out such laws.
“We Democrats are not go-
ing to settle for half measures
so Republicanscan feel better
and try to pushthe issue of gun
violence off to the side,” Schum-
er said in a statement. “Demo-
crats in the Senate will seek to
require that any ERPO bill that
comes to the flooris accompa-
nied by a voteon the House-
passed universal background
checks legislation.”
Trump,on his way to Day-
ton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas,
whereback-to-backmassacres
over the weekend left 31 people
dead,toldreporters he was
opento expanding background
checksfor gun purchases — a
surprising development, given
that the National RifleAssocia-
tion,the nation’s largest gun
lobby, and many Republicans
are vehemently opposed.
But Senator Mitch McCon-
nell of Kentucky, the Senate ma-
jority leader, has blocked con-
sideration of the House bills. In-
stead, McConnell has told three
top committee chairmen,in-
cluding Graham, to “reflect on
the subjects the president
raised” in his speech from the
WhiteHouse on Monday and
engage in “bipartisandiscus-
sions of potential solutions to
helpprotect our communities
while not infringingon Ameri-
cans’ constitutional rights.”
Gun violence legislation is
one of the most divisive issues

in Washington, and it has been

thrust to the fore,yet again, by

the Daytonand El Paso shoot-

ings. Democrats’ tactics are not

entirely clear; by saying Demo-

crats will “seekto require”that

any Senate legislation is accom-

paniedby the House back-

ground checks bills, Schumer

stopped short of threatening to

employ a filibuster to block

stand-alone red flag legislation.

“The notion that passing a

tepidversionof an Extreme

Risk Protection Order (ERPO)

bill — alone — is close to getting

the job done in addressing ram-

pantgunviolenceinthe USis

wrong and would be an ineffec-

tive cop-out,” he said.

Virtuallythe entireHouse

Democratic Caucus sent McCo-

nnell a letter on Wednesday, de-

mandingthat he take up two

House-passed bills, one to ex-

pand criminal background

checks to would-be gun buyers

on the Internet and at gun

shows, and another to lengthen

the waiting period for gun buy-

ers to allow moretime for the

FBI to investigate.

“This inaction must stop,”

the letter said.

The political landscape

around gun legislation in Wash-

ington may be shifting. Two

new Democratic membersof

Congress — Representatives

Lucy McBath of Georgia, whose

son was fatally shot in 2012,

and Jason Crow of Colorado —

bothwonRepublican-held

seats after runningon a prom-

ise to address gun violence. And

many Republicanssoundrat-

tled after the weekend killings,

amidpublicoutcry overtoo

many massshootings that

prompt “thoughts and prayers”

but no action from Washington.

Critics say federal

‘red flag’ law on

guns not enough

ByTonyRomm

andDrew Harwell

WASHINGTON POST

WASHINGTON— The

White House will host top tech

companies Friday to discuss

the rise of violent onlineex-

tremism, marking the Trump

administration’s first major en-

gagement on the issue days af-

ter a mass shooting in Texas

left 22 people dead.

The gatheringwill include

‘‘senior administration officials

along with representatives of a

range of companies,’’ White

House spokesman Judd Deere

said in a statement. He did not

namewhichcompanies would

attend.

The WhiteHouse effort fol-

lowsan attack this weekend in

El Paso that was announced on

the anonymous message board

8chanin a manifesto decrying

the ‘‘Hispanic invasion of Tex-

as.’’ It wasthe third mass

shooting this yearthat began

with the posting of a gunman’s

hateful screedon the site, cur-

rentlyoffline following moves

by two Internet-services firms.

In response, Trumpon

Monday took aim at social me-

dia broadly, tasking the Justice

Department to ‘‘workin part-

nership withlocal state and

federal agencies, as well as so-

cial media companies, to devel-

op toolsthat can detect mass

shootersbefore they strike,’’ he

said in a speech.

On Wednesday, Trump

pledged again to ‘‘do some-

thing about’’ online hate, tell-

ing reporters he is ‘‘concerned

for any group of hate, I don’t

like it... whether it’s white su-

premacy or any otherkindof

supremacy.’’

But Trumpmaintainedhis

rhetoric — including attacks on

his politicalfoes,immigrants,

and othergroups— played no

role in coarseningconversa-

tion online and spawningvio-

lence.

‘‘I don’t think my rhetoric

doesat all — I thinkmy rheto-

ric brings people together,’’

Trump said.

Facebook and Google did

not immediately respondto a

request for comment. Twitter

declined to comment.

Te ch firms

to discuss

extremism

on Web

WhiteHouse to

host gathering

ByAlexander Burns
andKatieGlueck
NEWYORKTIMES
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Dem-
ocratic presidentialcandidates
lashed PresidentTrump on
Wednesday withtheirsternest
denunciations yet of his exploi-
tation of racismfor political
purposesand his resistanceto
gun control, in a day of biting
criticism that also highlighted
differencesbetween Democrats
overhowbest to understand
the recent rise of hate crimes in
America.
More than ever, it was clear
that last weekend’s massacres
in El Paso and Dayton,Ohio,
had put Trump on the defensive
and addedfierce new urgency
to Democratic efforts to engi-
neer his ouster. Trumphas not
accountedfor the echoesof his
own rhetoric about immigrants
and minorities in the manifesto
composed by the anti-immi-
grant gunman in Texas, and on
Wednesday morninghe ap-
pearedfar morefocusedon
feudingwithhis criticsin the
Democratic Party and the me-
dia thanon strikinga toneof
healing.
Formervice presidentJoe
Biden, in one of the most fiery
speeches of his campaign so far,
argued that Trump had “fanned
the flames of white supremacy
in this nation” with both explic-
it and implicit language as pres-
ident.
“Trump readily, eagerly at-
tacks Islamic terrorism but can
barelybringhimselfto use the

words‘white supremacy,’ ”

Bidensaid Wednesday after-

nooninBurlington,Iowa.“And

even when he says it, he doesn’t

appear to believe it. He seems

more concerned about losing

their votes thanbeating back

this hateful ideology.”

Speaking in Charleston, S.C.,

at EmanuelAfricanMethodist

Episcopal Church,wherea

whitesupremacist gunman

killed nine blackworshipersin

2015, Senator Cory Booker of

New Jersey also blamed Trump

for encouraging hatred.The

weekend’s violence,he said,

was “sowed by those who spoke

the same words the El Paso

murdererdid, warning of an

‘invasion,’ ” a wordTrumphas

used to describe migrants ap-

proaching the Southern border.

Trumphas emphatically de-

niedthat he is racist, and on

Wednesday, he dismissed re-

porters’ questions about the

role of his rhetoric in dividing

the country, sayinghis lan-

guage “brings people together.”

For bothTrumpandhis

Democratic challengers, the ex-

traordinary focus this week on

whitenationalism, gun vio-

lence, and domestic terror ap-

peared to reframea chaotic

presidentialcampaign — at

least temporarily — as a searing

moral debate about the racial

history and cultural destiny of

the United States.

Trump,who rose to power

railingagainst the country’s

changingethnic and cultural

texture, contendsthat Demo-

crats shouldbe punished for

opposing his immigration poli-

cies and rejecting the values of

the rural whitepeoplewho

make up his politicalbase.

Democrats, meanwhile,are

now arguing in the most explic-

it terms yet that white suprem-

acists are receivingaid and

comfort fromthe president of

the United States.

“His low-energy, vacant-eyed

mouthing of the words written

for him condemning white su-

premacists this weekI don’t be-

lieve fooled anyone, at home or

abroad,” Bidensaid, referringto

Trump’s remarks Monday about

the El Paso shooting.

Insistently branding Trump

as a figurewho offends the na-

tion’s political values, Biden

contrasted the president’s am-

bivalent response to racism and

tragedy with the conduct of his

predecessors— Bill Clinton’s

soothingresponseto the 1995

bombing at a federal building

inOklahomaCity,forinstance,

and George W. Bush’s visit to a

mosque after the terror attacks

of Sept. 11, 2001.

In a biting one-linerthat has

becomea regularjab on the

campaigntrail, Bidensaid to

applause that Trump had “more

in common withGeorge Wal-

lace thanhe doeswithGeorge

Washington.”

Booker eschewed that kind

of nostalgia for the Founding

Fathersin his ownspeech

against violent racism.

He said instead that white

supremacy had been “ingrained

in our politicssinceour found-

ing,” withinthe text of the Dec-

laration of Independence and

the Constitution.

Democratic candidates try to keep Trump on defensive

Biden, Booker

take president to

task for rhetoric

CHARLIE NEIBERGALL/ASSOCIATEDPRESS

FormervicepresidentJoe BidensaidPresidentTrumphad

“fannedtheflamesof whitesupremacy in thisnation.”

‘We Democrats are

notgoingto settle

forhalfmeasures

soRepublicans

canfeelbetter and

try to pushthe

issueof gun

violenceoff to the

side.’

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER

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