WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden's meeting with New York Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday to discuss combating escalating gun crime signals Democrats want to send a message that they will not cede the issue of public safety to Republicans this election year. Republicans contend that a pandemic-era spike in homicides and gun crimes in urban areas across the nation is tied to Democratic backing for the “defund the police” movement that arose out of the racial justice protests of 2020. With U.S. voters ranking crime among their top concerns and support for Biden eroding in the suburbs, a Biden...