Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.) said Tuesday he would prosecute gun crimes that fall under federal jurisdiction during his confirmation hearing for attorney general.
Sessions' views on gun crime prosecutions were made clear during an exchange between him and Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas). Cornyn framed the question in terms of violence against police and gun violence against minority communities. He specifically focused on gun crimes committed by felons who were already prohibited from possessing firearms.
"We ought to hold our police and law enforcement officers up in the high regard to which they deserve based on their service to the communities, and your comments remind me to some extent of chief David Brown's comments, the Dallas police chief, following the tragic killing of five Dallas police officers recently, where he said that police ought to be held accountable," Cornyn said. "But under no circumstances could any assault against a police officer be justified based on what somebody else did somewhere at some time. You for one appreciate that very much."
"You mentioned Baltimore and Chicago," Cornyn continued. "We've seen an incredible number of people, frequently in minority communities, who have been killed as a result of crimes related to felons who perhaps are in possession of guns that they have no legal right to be in possession of."
Cornyn went on to mention an NRA-backed federal prosecution program named Project Exile and criticized the Obama administration's efforts to prosecute gun crimes.
"Earlier you talked about prosecuting gun crimes," he said. "I'm glad to hear you say that. Project Exile, which originated I think in Richmond, Virginia, which targeted felons and other people who cannot legally own or possess firearms, was enormously affected. When I look at the record of the last five and 10 years at the Justice Department, prosecution of those kinds of crimes down 15.5 percent in the last five years, down 34.8 percent in the last ten years."
He then asked Sessions whether he would commit to making gun crime prosecutions a priority if he was confirmed as attorney general.
"Can you assure us that you will make prosecuting those people who cannot legally possess or use firearms a priority again in the Department of Justice and help break the back of this crime wave that's affecting so many people in our local communities like Chicago or Baltimore, and particularly minority communities?" Cornyn asked.
"I can, Sen. Cornyn," Sessions responded. "I'm familiar with how that plays out in the real world. My best judgment, colleagues, is that properly enforced, the federal gun laws can reduce crime and violence in our cities and communities."
Sessions specifically praised Project Exile and said it highlighted the kind of success that federal gun prosecutions can have, but he also touted his own experence with gun prosecutions.
"It was highlighted in Richmond and in Project Exile, but I have to tell you, I have always believed that. When I was the United States attorney in the 1980s and early 1990s, we produced a newsletter that went out to all local law enforcement called Project Trigger Lock. It went to federal law enforcement, too. It highlighted the progress that was being made by prosecuting criminals who used guns to carry out their crimes."
"Criminals are most likely the kind of person that will shoot somebody when they go about their business, and if those people are not carrying guns because they believe they might go to federal court, be sent to a federal jail, for five years perhaps, they'll stop carrying those guns during that drug dealing and their other activities that are criminal," Sessions continued.
"Fewer people get killed. So, I truly believe that we need to step that up. It's a compassionate thing," Sessions said. "If one of these individuals carrying a gun shoots somebody, not only is there a victim, they end up with a sentence in jail for indeterminable periods. The culture, the communities are safer with fewer guns in the hands of criminals."