Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

I'm honored to be joining all of you today to help open ATF's Inaugural Gun Violence Survivors' Summit.

Today's discussions and dedication of the Faces of Gun Violence Exhibit this afternoon reflect a deep and abiding commitment by the women and men of the ATF to victims and survivors of gun violence.

I'm grateful to the ATF and to all of you for being here - especially those who have lost loved ones to gun violence. Your presence honors their memory and fuels our fight for a better, safer future.

The community gathered today shares a powerful bond.

You are survivors. You are advocates. You are members of law enforcement. You call different places home and you come from different walks of life.

But together, you're bound by extraordinary courage.

Your lives have been transformed by gun violence - but you are not defined by it.

You share a commitment - to turn your pain into purposeful action - doing everything you can to prevent another family from enduring the same loss.

I just spent some time in the Faces of Gun Violence Exhibit.

These beautiful photos pay tribute to 118 lives cut short by gun violence. 118 individuals. 118 smiles and stories.

They represent a fraction of the vast toll gun violence takes on our country every year.

They are 118 souls who aren't with us today but who live on in those who loved them most and knew them best.

We stand together in recognition of that profound loss, alongside all those who have been touched by the tragedy of gun violence.

We stand together, in common cause, to end gun violence and its devastation.

And we stand together, undaunted, with resolve and hope for the future.

Now, when it comes to this issue, hope can be hard to hold onto.

Because every day, gun violence continues to devastate families and communities across our nation.

It's the leading cause of death for American children and teenagers.

And it's responsible for more than 100 deaths of law enforcement officers in the line of duty over the past two years.

But there are reasons for hope.

Just look around this room.

Survivors are here today to listen, learn, and tell their stories. Members of law enforcement are also here, as fellow survivors to listen, learn, and tell their stories.

We must come together - we must pull together - as we're doing today to stop gun violence.

The Department of Justice has no higher priority than keeping our communities safe and that means targeting the most significant drivers of violent crime in this country - namely gun violence.

So, we are hard at work. Together, with federal, state, and local law enforcement and community partners we are:

• Focusing on the key drivers of violent crime, including repeat shooters;
• Earning trust and legitimacy in the communities we serve;
• Investing in community-based prevention and intervention programs; and
• Measuring and driving results with data - to achieve tangible and sustainable decreases in violent gun crimes.

The good news is that we're making progress.

Over the past two years, rates of violent crime are on a downward trajectory.

But we still we have so much more to do. There is no acceptable level of violent crime and gun violence.

Today's convening is a critical part of that effort because today's convening is focused on survivors. The courage and commitment you share.

Today's discussions will be critical to our ongoing work - work like the use of technology to hold violent criminals accountable and to prevent future carnage.

Technology like crime gun intelligence that's supercharging our ability to swiftly identify repeat shooters and take them off the streets.

With these tools, we trace guns and bullets from crime scenes; locate where and how people are buying illegal guns; and link seemingly unrelated crimes to take repeat shooters off the streets before they can strike again.

With ATF, we're working to bring crime gun intelligence to more law enforcement agencies, more quickly than ever - from the smallest towns to the biggest cities. Because it's saving lives.

Later this morning you'll hear more about crime gun intelligence from Mariana Mitchem, a leader of this work here at ATF.

Crime-gun intelligence has also helped us maximize the many benefits of the most significant gun safety legislation passed in 30 years - the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

Since the law's passage, we've been using its common-sense provisions to keep guns out the hands of people who shouldn't have them.

Under this law, we're running enhanced background checks on firearms purchasers under 21 years old.

Because of this legislation, law enforcement has kept more than 700 guns out of the hands of young people prohibited by law from possessing them.

We've used BSCA to crack down on more than 400 straw purchasers and illegal gun traffickers.

And just last week, the Justice Department finalized a rule that will require all those in the business of selling guns to obtain a federal license and run background checks - which we know keeps guns out of the hands of violent criminals and saves lives.

You'll hear more about the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and what we're doing to implement it later this morning from the ATF's Jon Jacobs.

Today, you'll also discuss something that is too often ignored: firearms and domestic violence.

According to some research, every month an average of 70 women are killed with a firearm by an intimate partner.

I started my career working on the original Violence Against Women Act legislation. This year will mark the 30th anniversary of that groundbreaking legislation.

Since then, the Violence Against Women Act has afforded rights and safeguards to survivors - while ensuring the criminal justice system holds perpetrators to account.

But despite that progress, we need to do more.

We need to do more to keep guns out of the hands of violent domestic partners.

We need to do more to support law enforcement as they work to interrupt and prevent domestic violence.

And we need to do more to protect courageous survivors.

Now, those are just a few of the topics on the table today.

Some moments will be hopeful, and others will be heartbreaking.

But through it all, my promise is this: we will not stop working to prevent gun violence and honor its victims and survivors.

Because every single gun crime is one too many. Every single shooter who evades justice is one too many. And every single innocent life lost to gun violence is one too many.

Once again, thank you to the ATF for hosting today's Summit.

Thank you to the survivors and members of law enforcement here today for sharing your experiences.

And thank you to the experts and public servants here at ATF who work every day to keep people safe across our country.

It's an honor to be in your company and to honor the victims of gun violence. I'm grateful for all that you do.

Thank you.

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