DeKalb County’s new police chief will appear on national television Thursday with Vice President Joe Biden to talk about gun safety efforts at the federal level.
Cedric Alexander joined a survivor of the Virginia Tech shooting, a certified firearms instructor and a gun industry lobbyist in the discussion with Biden for MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program.
Alexander, who began working as police chief in Georgia’s third-biggest county on April 1, said it was his law enforcement background that led him to back gun control advocates’ push for background checks — “low-hanging fruit we should all agree can and should be done” — and support the safety training advocated by gun rights groups. “Ninety-nine percent of gun owners are responsible,” he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an interview.
But it was his doctorate in clinical psychology and experience in counseling that prompted an idea that he said had Biden nodding in agreement.
“Most importantly, we need more funding for local communities to tackle mental health issues,” Alexander told the AJC. “Finding a way to identify people with mental health conditions, and getting them help, is something we can see would have made a difference in many cases.”
The TV program was taped Wednesday afternoon, just hours before a bipartisan group of U.S. senators announced a compromise on background checks, expected to clear the way for proposals expected to soon come up for a vote.
The discussion will air on “Morning Joe” on MSNBC between 6 and 9 a.m. Thursday.
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