The Biden administration's approach to criminal justice has come under fire for its contradictions and misplaced priorities, according to Senator Tom Cotton.
Cotton argues that while the administration is lenient towards convicts and drug users, it is imposing measures that could turn law-abiding citizens into criminals. He criticizes the administration for cracking down on pistol owners and cigarette smokers while taking a softer approach to illegal drug offenders.
President Biden has long advocated for a significant reduction in the country's prison population. During his campaign, Biden pledged to release half of the U.S. prison population, going even further than the American Civil Liberties Union's call for release. However, critics on the left have accused Biden of not following through on this promise, as incarceration in federal prisons has actually increased during his presidency.
In April, Biden commuted the sentences of 31 people convicted of nonviolent drug crimes who were serving time in home confinement. This move was accompanied by the announcement of an "Alternatives, Rehabilitation, and Reentry Strategic Plan," which included measures such as removing barriers for convicted criminals in prison to vote.
These actions align with the administration's "harm reduction" strategy towards illegal drug use. The focus is not on achieving abstinence but on lowering the risk of death or infectious diseases for drug users. One aspect of harm reduction is the establishment of "safe injection" sites, where addicts can inject themselves with street drugs under supervision. These sites provide sterile needles and tools to check drugs for lethal substances. Critics argue that this approach keeps people on a cycle of addiction instead of helping them quit.
In May, New York University and Brown University received over $5 million in grant money from the federal government for a study on whether overdoses can be prevented by safe injection sites. Proponents of harm reduction believe that these sites could help reduce overdose deaths caused by synthetic fentanyl.
The Biden administration faced criticism last year when it announced a federal grant program that would reimburse local governments for providing safe "smoking kits" to addicts. These kits were reported to include smoking pipes for "any illicit substance," including crack cocaine and crystal methamphetamine. While the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services denied that crack pipes would be distributed, it was later reported that harm-reduction organizations in several East Coast cities included crack pipes in their safe smoking kits.
While pursuing a harm reduction approach to drug use, the Biden administration has simultaneously sought to impose tougher restrictions and punishments on certain gun owners and cigarette smokers. The administration's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a plan for a nationwide ban on menthol cigarettes, citing the potential to reduce disease and death. The ban would be enforced against manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, importers, and retailers, but not individual consumers.
The Biden administration, with the support of Democrats in Congress, has taken various steps to crack down on menthol tobacco products, potentially impacting millions of Americans. Menthol-flavored cigarettes accounted for 37% of all cigarette sales in the U.S. in 2019 and 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In addition to tobacco, the administration's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) is pushing a rule that categorizes pistols with a stabilizing brace as short-barreled rifles, requiring a federal license to own. This rule would require gun owners to register pistols with stabilizing braces or remove the braces altogether. Republicans argue that this regulation violates Second Amendment rights and exposes law-abiding gun owners to criminal liability.
House Republicans passed a measure to nullify the ATF's rule, but Senate Democrats rejected it. Senator Cotton voted against the pistol brace rule, stating that it would turn many Arkansans into felons overnight. He argues that stopping gun violence should involve tougher sentences for criminals who violate gun laws, rather than more regulations for law-abiding gun owners.
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