Second Gentleman Pool Reports of February 28, 2024

SGOTUS supplemental pool #1

Good afternoon. Pool is waiting for the second gentleman to enter the EEOB's Indian Treaty Room where he is set to deliver remarks ahead of a roundtable with officials from the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention and Department of Labor. Remarks and roundtable discussion will focus on efforts to improve job opportunities for youth in areas impacted by gun violence.

This, of course, follows the president's remarks and participation in a separate roundtable this afternoon on combatting violent crime and public safety.

SGOTUS' event, originally set for 2:30pm, is now slated to begin at 3:00pm ET.

Background from the White House:

Attributable to a White House Official:
On Wednesday, February 28, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, the Office of Gun Violence Prevention (OGVP) and the Department of Labor (DOL) will host a roundtable on improving job opportunities for communities affected by gun violence and discuss the connection between workforce development and violence intervention and prevention.

During the roundtable, DOL will also discuss its Growth Opportunities Program, which provides up to $85 million to improve job opportunities for youth in communities affected by violence and poverty. This recently announced funding opportunity supports programs that provide skills training through work-based learning, employment services, educational support and mentorship to youth and young adults in communities affected by violence, crime and poverty.

These funds provided by the Growth Opportunities Program build on efforts by the Biden-Harris Administration to prevent crime and promote public safety, including $15 billion provided by the President's American Rescue Plan to support additional police officers, expand community violence intervention, add crisis responders, and more. While the President's Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) — the most significant gun safety legislation in the last 30 years — provides $250 million in funding for community-based violence prevention initiatives, in addition to key investments for schools to expand mental health services and violence intervention programs.

We are already seeing the positive impacts of the President's strategy to prevent and reduce crime and gun violence nationwide. According to 2023 FBI data, there has been a significant drop in crime – including one of the largest yearly declines in homicides ever. By comparison, during the final year of the prior administration in 2020, the United States saw the largest increase in murders ever recorded. We have also seen key provisions created by the BCSA begin to deliver results in making communities safer against gun violence, including recent announcements by the Department of Justice on stopping more than 500 illegal gun purchases by people under 21 years old who presented a danger to our communities, and hundreds of charges brought by the Justice Department for illegal gun purchases and firearms trafficking.

The President knows more can and must be done, which is why OGVP, overseen by Vice President Kamala Harris, continues to identify executive orders to save lives, while also announcing new initiatives to encourage action at the state and local level. This past December, the Vice President convened 100 state legislators at the White House to launch the Biden-Harris Administration's Safer States Initiative, providing states with additional tools and the support they need to reduce gun violence—and we have already seen states begin to answer the call and implement these critical measures. Last month, the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Justice, also announced new executive actions to help promote safe storage of firearms that implement President Biden's Executive Order on promoting safe gun storage, which has been shown to dramatically reduce children's risk of self-inflicted harm and unintentional shootings.
These are just a few examples of the progress that is being made under the leadership of President Biden and Vice President Harris to protect our communities, schools and children, and end the epidemic of gun violence that is leaving empty seats at dinner tables across the country.

The Second Gentleman also continues to show up for communities affected by gun violence, meeting with victims and families in Parkland, Florida; Uvalde, Texas; Highland Park, Illinois; and the Tree of Life Community in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This past December, the Second Gentleman also delivered remarks at the 11th Annual Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence.

On deep background, not for attribution:
In addition to representatives from the White House and the Department of Labor, the roundtable will include the following participants:

• Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott
• Kalef Jones, Member Success Manager, PowerCorpsPHL
• Cindy Anderson, Program Manager, Employ Milwaukee Inc.
• Marquita Felder, Program Director, MiSide
• Tracey Carey, Midwest Urban Strategies Inc.
• Jasmine Oglesby, Director of Trauma-Informed Practice, PowerCorpsPHL
• Mishawn Freeman, Pathways Program

SGOTUS supplemental pool #2

The second gentleman entered the EEOB's Indian Treaty Room at 3:15pm, telling roundtable participants already seated "Good afternoon" as he took his seat.

Four tables were set up facing one another to form a square in the middle of the room. Pool counted 11 participants seated around the tables including the second gentleman. Each had a name tag and a microphone at their seat. There was a screen at the front of the room that read "Roundtable on the Growth Opportunities Program Announcement"

Deputy Director of the WH Office of Gun Violence Prevention Gregory Jackson Jr. spoke first, introducing the second gentleman.

SGOTUS spoke next, noting the country is facing an "epidemic of gun violence."

He mentioned the shooting in Kansas City earlier this month at the Super Bowl victory celebration.

He went on to say "this is not just mass shootings."

"This is every day, shootings every single day all across the country," he said.

SGOTUS noted that in his role as second gentleman he has met with victims and families who have lost loved ones to gun violence. "I've seen the impacts," he said. He specifically recounted visiting Highland Park, Illinois with the vice president the day after the shooting at a Fourth of July parade in 2022.

"This also disproportionately harms black Americans," he also noted.

"This just needs to stop. It must end. We have solutions," he said.

"We need Congress to act," he added.

He mentioned the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, calling it "the most significant legislation in years," but added "it was clearly not enough" and reiterated his call for Congress to do more.

The Second Gentleman wrapped remarks at 3:22.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott spoke after the Second Gentleman, followed by an official from the department of labor and Kalef Jones, a member success manger at PowerCorpsPHL.

Pool was escorted out of the room at 3:39 as the roundtable began.