In an effort “to send a clear message about how important this issue is to me and the country,” Vice President Joe Biden on Friday announced the establishment of a White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
The president spoke in the White House Rose Garden on his visits to the scenes of mass shootings across the country, including his visit to Sandy Hook Elementary School after the 2012 shooting there.
Anyone who doubts the long-term effects of such activities on youngsters should…” These were seasoned law enforcement officers who were pleading with me to help them find mental care. The question was asked loudly.
On a call with reporters on Thursday, an official said the office’s mandate will be twofold: to implement and expedite the president’s signature gun legislation from last year, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, and to find additional actions within the president’s remit to stem the flow of gun violence.
This news comes just days after a group of democrats in congress wrote to urge vice president Biden to use “the full power of the executive branch” to address the issue of gun violence. As Vice President Biden told reporters in March, following a mass shooting in Nashville that left six people dead, “I have gone to the full extent of my executive authority to do, on my own, anything about guns.”
On Friday, Biden highlighted the work his administration has done to reduce gun violence.
Unlike his predecessors, he added, “my administration has announced dozens of executive actions to reduce gun violence, including cracking down on ghost guns, breaking up gun trafficking, and so much more.”
I signed into law the bipartisan Safer Communities Act last year with your help, and it’s the most important gun safety bill in almost 30 years. It widened the use of background checks and red flag regulations, increased access to mental health care, and did much more besides. Life will be spared thanks to this landmark legislation. This is a crucially necessary initial step.
Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden added, will lead the new department.
When asked who understood the situation better, Biden said Harris. That’s not an exaggeration; it’s a fact. She has spent her whole career as a prosecutor, attorney general, and senator from the United States in the forefront of this issue. Her wealth of experience will be an asset to our department.
And for their efforts, Obama hailed the gun control activists gathered in the Rose Garden.
We will never forget your loved ones, and we will never reach our destination if we do. He replied, “You know, I know we will do this because I know you: heroes, heroes proving that even with heavy hearts, you have unbreakable spirits.