President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday announced new executive actions aimed at reducing gun violence, highlighting all the work the Biden-Harris administration has done on the issue during an afternoon press conference. While promoting it, he criticized the Republican Party's response to the issue. that.
“Guns are number one — it's hard to believe — but they kill more children than any other cause — accidents — than anything else,” Biden said from a blank page. More than any other cause, it's unbelievable – disease,'' he said from a blank page. Thursday House East Room. “Last year, after another school shooting, my predecessor said, as other members of Congress have said, 'Just get over it.' To be very frank, Ohio Secretary of State Vance calls these shootings “a fact of life.” Who exactly do these people think they are? ”
“The Second Amendment was never absolute,” Biden said Thursday afternoon.
In addition to attacking Republicans, Biden spent time at Thursday's press conference touting the efforts his administration has made to reduce overall violent crime.
“The year before we took office, we had the largest increase in the murder rate ever. Last year, we had the largest decrease in the murder rate in the nation,” Biden said. “In the first half of 2024, homicide rates in large cities across the country fell by an additional 17%. Also, last year saw the lowest rates for all violent crimes in more than 50 years.”
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Thursday's press conference came the same week as the one-year anniversary of Biden's first agency, the Gun Violence Prevention Agency, which he accused of trying to “defund” Republicans. Ahead of Thursday afternoon's press conference, the White House said Mr. announced plans to take administrative measures. How schools can prepare for incidents involving active shooters.
President Joe Biden speaks about gun violence in the United States during an event with Vice President Kamala Harris in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, September 26, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Biden said his new action would create a task force to address the issue of 3D-printed “ghost guns” and machine gun converters, firearm parts that can turn semi-automatic weapons into fully automatic weapons. said that it would be done. Biden added that the task force would release a “risk assessment” report within 90 days that would lay out “strategies to address these emerging firearm threats.”
Biden also sent Cabinet members a report with “resources and information to help schools improve active shooter training, minimize harm, create age-appropriate content, and communicate with parents.” It instructs them to share the information within 110 days.
“Today's lack of guidance on how to prepare students while minimizing the trauma of active shooter training is unacceptable,” Biden said.
The Harris campaign did not provide details about the type of gun she owned the last time she went to the shooting range.
President Joe Biden greets the audience after an event with Vice President Kamala Harris on gun violence in the United States in the East Room of the White House on Thursday, September 26, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Kamala Harris once said police could make surprise visits to the homes of legal gun owners to check on safe storage conditions.
Meanwhile, Vice President Harris spoke at an event Thursday and reiterated her support for a national assault weapons ban. Harris also called for universal background checks, safe custody laws, red flag laws and more mental health counselors in schools.
Both Harris and Biden argued that there needs to be accountability in certain instances of gun violence, and they also blamed the gun lobby and gun manufacturers.
“If[Republicans]have their way, criminals could traffic in guns and commit crimes,” Biden said Thursday. “An amendment has been introduced to defund the Bureau of Gun Violence Prevention.As we say in my church, Bless the Father, they attack the FBI, they attack Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, They're abolishing the Enforcement Agency…You can't do that, folks.'' Support law enforcement, be anti-FBI and ATF. ”
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A semi-automatic gun is displayed for sale on a shelf at a McBride Guns Inc. store in Austin, Texas, on August 25, 2023. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Gun control critics, meanwhile, say Biden's executive order was an effort to distract from his administration's poor record in reducing crime in big cities.
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“This executive order is just another attempt by the Biden-Harris administration to shift attention away from the crime-reduction policies that have emboldened our nation's criminals,” said Randy Kozucci, executive director of the NRA Legislative Action Institute. said.
“This order is extremely heavy on election year rhetoric and light on content,” Kozucci continued. “It's no secret that Americans do not feel safe under the Biden-Harris Administration, as evidenced by the record number of firearms purchased to protect themselves and their families.”
