{"id":3105,"date":"2023-09-23T13:00:50","date_gmt":"2023-09-23T13:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tacdar.com\/news\/?p=3105"},"modified":"2023-09-23T13:02:29","modified_gmt":"2023-09-23T13:02:29","slug":"biden-and-harris-introduce-new-gun-safety-effort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tacdar.com\/news\/index.php\/2023\/09\/23\/biden-and-harris-introduce-new-gun-safety-effort\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden and Harris introduce new gun safety effort"},"content":{"rendered":"\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n\n\n\n
\"TheFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/strong>
September 22, 2023
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BIDEN
ON GUN SAFETY
\u00a0
Rose Garden3:02 P.M. EDT
\u00a0
THE PRESIDENT:\u00a0 Thank you, thank you, thank you.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 Thank you, thank you, thank you.
\u00a0
Everyone should sit, except Mom and Dad.\u00a0 Mom and Dad, stand up.\u00a0 I want everybody to see the parents of this proud, young, new congressman.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 You did a heck of a job.
\u00a0
Congressman Frost, thank you for the introduction.\u00a0 And you\u2019ve helped power a movement that\u2019s turning a cause into reality.\u00a0 You know, you\u2019re a big reason why I\u2019m so optimistic about America\u2019s future.\u00a0 So many — so many engaged young people — so many engaged.
\u00a0
I remember when I was young.\u00a0 (Laughter.)\u00a0 We have something in common: I got elected to the Senate when I was 29 years old.\u00a0 Only difference was he was eligible when he got elected to take office; I had to wait 17 days to be eligible.\u00a0 That was 827 years ago, but it was a while.\u00a0 (Laughter.)
\u00a0
And folks, Vice President Harris, members of the Cabinet, and so many members of Congress who are here and the relentless leaders on this critical issue.\u00a0
\u00a0
You know, one of the members who couldn\u2019t be here today is a really important member: Senator Chris Murphy.\u00a0 With Chris, who, together with Congressman Frost, introduced the bill that created a dedicated gun violence prevention office — he couldn\u2019t be here today.\u00a0

Since the tragedy in Sandy Hook — and I remember being there.\u00a0 I remember that — how I met with every one of the parents who were there.\u00a0 I met with every member — every family member.\u00a0
\u00a0
And what I do also remember is that — I remember as we were leaving, the state police doing the investigation asked the\u00a0 senator if they\u2019d meet with me — if I could meet with them.\u00a0 And I said of course I would.\u00a0 And I think there were about 12 to 14 of them.\u00a0 I walked in a room, and two of them started crying.\u00a0 And they said, \u201cWe need help.\u00a0 We need help.\u201d\u00a0 And I looked at them; I said, \u201cWhat can I do?\u201d\u00a0 They said, \u201cWe need psychiatric help.\u00a0 We need help.\u00a0 We need help.\u201d
\u00a0
Anyone who doesn’t think that these kinds of engagements have a permanent effect on young children — and, in many cases, alter their entire lives even if they\u2019ve never had a bullet touch them — misunderstands.\u00a0 These were hard and tough cops asking me could I get them psychiatric help.\u00a0
\u00a0
To all the state and local leaders and advocates from all across the country — and to the survivors and families who are with us today, many of whom Jill and I have gotten to know —\u00a0\u00a0
\u00a0
And, by the way, our losses may be different circumstances, but I know events like this are really hard to attend.\u00a0 You want to be here to promote the change, but it brings back all the memories as if it happened a day ago.
\u00a0
And I thank you, those of you who are parents, for being here — brothers, sisters for being here.\u00a0 It matters.\u00a0 You have absolute courage; you found purpose in your pain.
\u00a0
And because of all of you here today, all across the country, survivors, families, advocates — especially young people who demand our nation do better to protect all; who protested, organized, voted, and ran for office, and, yes, marched for their lives — I\u2019m proud to announce the creation of the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention — the first office in our history.\u00a0 (Applause.)
\u00a0
I created — by executive order, I determined to send a clear message about how important this issue is to me and to the country.\u00a0 It matters.\u00a0
\u00a0
And here\u2019s why: After every mass shooting, we hear a simple message — the same message heard all over the country, and I\u2019ve been to every mass shooting: Do something.\u00a0 Please do something.\u00a0 Do something to prevent the tragedies that leave behind survivors who will always carry the physical and emotional scars, families who will never be the same, communities overwhelmed by grief and trauma.\u00a0 Do something.\u00a0 Do something.
\u00a0
Well, my administration has been working relentlessly to do something.\u00a0\u00a0
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To date, my administration has announced dozens of executive actions to reduce gun violence — more than any of my predecessors at this point in their presidencies.\u00a0 And they include everything from cracking down on ghost guns, breaking up gun trafficking, and so much more. \u00a0(Applause.)\u00a0
\u00a0
And last year, with the help — your help, I signed into law the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act: the most significant gun safety law in almost 30 years.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 It strengthens background checks, expands the use of red flag laws, improves access to mental health services, and so much more.\u00a0\u00a0
\u00a0
This historic law will save lives.\u00a0 It\u2019s a really important first step.
\u00a0
And, by the way, I was the guy — along with a woman in California — who also — we once banned assault weapons and multiple magazines.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to do it again.
\u00a0
A call to action.\u00a0 A reason to hope.\u00a0 Because for so long, the conventional wisdom was we\u2019d never get any Republicans to support gun safety legislation.\u00a0 But we did.
\u00a0
For the first time in three decades, we came together to overcome the relentless opposition from the gun lobby, gun manufacturers, and so many politicians opposing commonsense gun legislation.\u00a0 And we beat them.\u00a0 (Applause.)
\u00a0
And we did it through a bipartisan effort that included the majority of responsible gun owners.\u00a0
\u00a0
We\u2019re not stopping here.\u00a0 Again, it\u2019s — I\u2019ll say it again.\u00a0 I\u2019m not going to be quiet until we get it done: It\u2019s time again to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0
\u00a0
If you need 80 shots in a magazine, you shouldn\u2019t own a gun.
\u00a0
Because, look, last time we did it, it worked.
\u00a0
We also — last time, we established universal background checks and require safe storage of firearms.\u00a0 It\u2019s time.\u00a0 It\u2019s time.\u00a0 (Applause.)
\u00a0
Look, while we push — we push for Congress to do more, we\u2019re going to centralize, accelerate, and intensify our work to save more lives more quickly.\u00a0
\u00a0
That\u2019s why this new White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention — it\u2019s what it\u2019s designed to do.\u00a0 It will drive and coordinate a government and a nationwide effort to reduce gun violence in America.\u00a0
\u00a0
And it will be overseen by an incredible vice president, who understands this — (applause) — more than any vice president has.\u00a0 No, really.\u00a0 That\u2019s not hyperbole. \u00a0That\u2019s a fact.\u00a0 She\u2019s been on the frontlines of this issue her entire career as a prosecutor, as an attorney general, and as a United States senator.\u00a0 Her deep experience will be invaluable for this office.\u00a0
\u00a0
And Stef — where is Stef Feldman?\u00a0
\u00a0
THE VICE PRESIDENT:\u00a0 She\u2019s right there.\u00a0
\u00a0
THE PRESIDENT:\u00a0 Stef, I want you to stand up, please.\u00a0 Stef Feldman — (applause) — who\u2019s been working on this issue with me since the Sandy Hook in 2012 — she was 13 years old when she joined me, but — (laughter) — since 2012 — will serve as director of the office.\u00a0
\u00a0
An office — and the office will have four primary responsibilities:
\u00a0
First, to expedite the implementation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and the executive actions already announced.\u00a0 And I mean it: We\u2019re going to fully implement it.\u00a0\u00a0
\u00a0
Second, coordinate more support for survivors, families, and communities affected by gun violence, including mental health care, financial assistance — the same way FEMA responds to natural disasters.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 The same way.\u00a0 And it helps folks recover and rebuild and alter.\u00a0 Look, folks, shootings are the ultimate superstorm, ripping through communities.
\u00a0
Third, identify new executive actions we can take within our legal authority to reduce gun violence. \u00a0\u00a0
\u00a0
And fourth, expand our coalition of partners in states and cities across America because we do have partners to get more — we need more state and local help to get these laws passed locally as well — and to strengthen our laws and give us more hope. \u00a0\u00a0
\u00a0
Folks, to be clear, none of these steps alone is going to solve the entirety of the gun violence epidemic.\u00a0 None of them.\u00a0 But together, they will save lives.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 And it\u2019s going to help — it will help rally the nation with a sense of urgency and seriousness of purpose.\u00a0
\u00a0
Today, guns — I never thought I\u2019d even remotely say this in my whole career — guns are the number one killer of children in America.\u00a0 Guns are the number one killer of children in America — the United States of America.\u00a0 More than car accidents, more than cancer, more than other diseases.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\u00a0
In 2023 so far, our country has experienced more than 500 mass shootings and well over 30,000 deaths due to gun violence.\u00a0 That\u2019s just totally unacceptable.\u00a0 It\u2019s not who we are.\u00a0 And we have to act, and we have to act now.
\u00a0
And let me be very clear: If members of the Congress refuse to act, then we\u2019ll need to elect new members of Congress that will act.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 Democrat or Republican.
\u00a0
Look, folks, there comes a point where our voices are so loud and our determination so clear that our effort can no longer be stopped.\u00a0 We\u2019re reaching that point — we\u2019ve reached that point today, in my view, where the safety of our kids from gun violence is on the ballot.\u00a0
\u00a0
At the end of the day, whether they\u2019re Democrats or Republicans, we all want our families to be safe.\u00a0 We all want to go to school, houses of worship, grocery stores, gyms, malls, movies without constant anxiety.\u00a0
\u00a0
We all want our kids to have the freedom to learn how to read and write in school instead of duck and cover, for God\u2019s sake.\u00a0 And it matters.\u00a0\u00a0
\u00a0
So, let me close with this.\u00a0 Earlier this summer, I was in Connecticut at a summit on gun safety hosted by Senator Murphy.\u00a0 Four students impacted by gun violence, who are here with us today, summoned extraordinary courage and stood and shared their stories on stage.\u00a0 Four of them.\u00a0
\u00a0
They each came from different backgrounds, different parts of the country, different shootings.\u00a0 But they shared a common, singular message that one of them summed up in just a few words, and I quote, \u201cthe deadly and traumatic price for inaction.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s what he talked about: the deadly and traumatic price for inaction.
\u00a0
They made clear what all of you know too well — that price can no longer be the lives of our children and the people of our country.\u00a0 They spoke for an entire generation of Americans who will not be ignored, will not be shunned, and will not be silenced.\u00a0 (Applause.)
\u00a0
And I know — I know progress is hard.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been at this a long time.\u00a0 But we\u2019ve done it before, and we can do it again.\u00a0 If we\u2019re here, I\u2019m here to tell you that you — and Vice President Harris hears you as well.
\u00a0
You\u2019re right.\u00a0 You\u2019re right.\u00a0 We\u2019re by your side, and we\u2019re never going to get up — give up dealing with this problem.\u00a0 We\u2019re never going to forget your loved ones.\u00a0 We\u2019re never going to get there unless we remember.\u00a0
\u00a0
You know, I know we\u2019ll do this because I know you: heroes.\u00a0 Heroes proving that even with heavy hearts, you have unbreakable spirits.\u00a0 In memory of your loved ones, you\u2019re building a movement that endures.\u00a0
\u00a0
Above all, you\u2019ll never give up on the one thing we must never lose: hope, hope, hope.\u00a0
\u00a0
Jill and I, Kamala and Doug, our entire administration are more determined than ever to carry forward that hope, that inspiration, that light that you continue to give us all.\u00a0
\u00a0
For the lives we have lost — for the lives we can save, we can do this.\u00a0 We just have to keep going.\u00a0 We just have to keep the faith.\u00a0 We just have to remember who we are.\u00a0
\u00a0
Every time I\u2019d walk out of my grandpop\u2019s house up in Scranton, he\u2019d yell, for real, \u201cJoey, keep the faith.\u201d\u00a0 And my grandmother would yell, \u201cNo, Joey, spread it.\u00a0 Spread it.\u201d\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 That\u2019s what we have to do: spread the faith.
\u00a0
And remember — remember — and I mean this sincerely: We are the United States of America.\u00a0 There is nothing — nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together.\u00a0 Nothing we\u2019ve ever tried to solve, when we\u2019ve done it together, we haven\u2019t succeeded.\u00a0
\u00a0
May God bless you all.\u00a0 May God protect our troops.\u00a0 And may God protect our children.\u00a0 Thank you so very much.\u00a0 (Applause.)
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASESeptember 22, 2023REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BIDENON GUN SAFETY\u00a0Rose Garden3:02 P.M. EDT\u00a0THE PRESIDENT:\u00a0 Thank you, thank you, thank you.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 Thank you, thank you, thank you.\u00a0Everyone should sit, except Mom and Dad.\u00a0 Mom and Dad, stand up.\u00a0 I want everybody to see the parents of this proud, young, new congressman.\u00a0 (Applause.)\u00a0 You did a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3126,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,78],"tags":[48,9,60],"class_list":["post-3105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-biden","category-harris","category-rose-garden","tag-biden","tag-harris","tag-white-house","entry","has-media"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/tacdar.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/DSC06366-scaled.jpg?v=1695474136","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tacdar.com\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tacdar.com\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tacdar.com\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tacdar.com\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tacdar.com\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3105"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tacdar.com\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3121,"href":"https:\/\/tacdar.com\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3105\/revisions\/3121"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tacdar.com\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tacdar.com\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tacdar.com\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tacdar.com\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}