Biden pledges crackdown on illegal gun dealers

BIDEN: "We'll make sure you can't sell death and mayhem on our streets."

U.S. President Joe Biden pledged on Wednesday to crack down on a crime spike across the country, targeting illegal gun dealers and boosting support for local law enforcement.

The new measures will revoke gun licenses for dealers operating illegally, including those who fail to conduct required background checks.

Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland also announced strengthened efforts to stop illegal gun trafficking across states, and boost federal funding for community policing.

"...In the study we did, showed that 90 percent of illegal guns were found at the crime scenes sold by five percent of gun dealers, five percent sold 90 percent of the guns found at crime scenes. And these merchants of death are breaking the law for profit. They're selling guns that are killing innocent people."

The Biden administration faces growing pressure and impatience from gun safety activists.

Meanwhile, the Republican Party issued a statement saying Biden "should have stood up" to fellow Democrats who do not sufficiently support law enforcement.

U.S. gun sales soared last year as protests erupted over police brutality and a contested presidential election, and homicides in several American cities surged 30% from the year before.

Protected by the Constitution's Second Amendment, gun rights are a hot-button issue in America, which sees far more gun deaths than other wealthy countries.