Politics and Current
Harris is uniquely positioned to combat gun violence in black communities, advocates say
Gun violence is back in the national highlight following Wednesday’s events deadly shooting at highschool in Winder, GeorgiaThe tragedy that struck Apalachee High School in which 4 people were killed and nine injured has Democrats and gun safety advocates renewed calls for stricter gun laws.
“We need to end this epidemic of gun violence in our country once and for all,” Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, said hours after Wednesday’s shooting at a campaign event in New Hampshire. She added: “It doesn’t have to be this way. It doesn’t have to be this way.”
Supporters see Harris because the one and best candidate who can construct on progress in reducing gun violence, particularly in black communities. Addressing the difficulty is a top concern for black Americans, who’re nearly 3 times as likely to be more likely than white Americans are killed by firearms.
According to a survey by the gun safety group GIFFORDS, 74% of black voters want stronger gun laws. The survey, a part of a $15 million campaign to highlight gun violence ahead of the Nov. 5 general election, also found that half of all black voters are “very concerned” in regards to the prevalence of gun violence in their communities, compared with 24% of the general voting population.
GIFFORDS, founded by former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who survived a 2011 assassination attempt, has endorsed Harris for president in 2024. Giffords praised Harris’ “steadfast leadership” on the difficulty of gun violence, adding that the Democratic nominee “will save lives.”
McMillan says Harris has been a “key partner” and “gun safety champion,” each as a U.S. senator and now as vice chairman. Harris currently leads the historic White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which is tasked with implementing provisions of the Biden Safer Communities Act, which allocates $250 million for community violence intervention programs.
“We know this works in Black and brown communities,” McMillan said.
“She’s not just a symbol of possibility — she’s a powerful force shaping policy to keep our families safe,” said Ferrell-Zabala, who noted that Harris tightened gun safety laws as California’s attorney general and, as a U.S. senator, co-sponsored laws to expand background checks and ban violators from possessing guns.
She added: “She truly understands the devastating reality of this uniquely American crisis that disproportionately affects communities of color, and that we must invest in holistic, local solutions that are created by the communities it impacts.”
In her New Hampshire speech, Harris noted that in her “Fight For Our Freedoms” college tour last fall, she asked students on each campus to raise their hand in the event that they “had to endure a shooting drill at any point between kindergarten and 12th grade.”
“I tell you, every time the room was full, and almost every hand went up,” said the vice chairman.
Harris, together with President Biden, Democrats and advocates, have called on Congress to go further than the Safer Communities Act, which expanded background check requirements and created latest crimes. Gun safety advocates also want to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and establish universal background checks.
According to the GIFFORDS poll, 50 percent of black voters attributed the issue to a scarcity of mental health services, while 49 percent blamed the nation’s gun violence epidemic on weak gun laws. Forty-seven percent of black voters cited quick access to guns, while 40 percent blamed loopholes in gun laws.
“If we have a strong economic program that actually lifts black people out of poverty, we will see gun violence in communities go down,” Powell said.
According to data from the Black Census Organization, black voters’ concerns about gun violence are threefold: community violence, white supremacist violence, and police violence.
While gun violence continues to plague the country, there are signs that the Biden-Harris administration’s work is paying off. Data shows gun violence deaths are on the rise downward in 2024. But supporters say they’re fearful about the implications if former President and Republican Party candidate Donald Trump wins the November election.
“What happens to the (White House) Office of Gun Violence Prevention if, God forbid, Donald Trump is re-elected?” McMillan asked. “We know he will be proud not to address this issue or to try to undo the progress we have made through his alliances with the NRA (and) the gun lobbyists.”
On Thursday, Trump’s vice presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, faced criticism for saying school shootings are a “fact of life.” He also misleadingly claimed that Harris wants to “take guns away from law-abiding citizens.” He and Trump have also called for tighter school security as an answer, although the National Education Association notes that tightening school security doesn’t prevent shootings.
“Donald Trump and JD Vance believe school shootings are a ‘fact of life’ and ‘we have to get over it,’” Harris campaign spokesman Ammar Moussa said, echoing Trump’s earlier remarks after the Iowa school shooting in January.
“Vice President Harris and Governor Walz know that we can take action to keep our children safe and prevent criminals from getting access to guns,” Moussa said. “Donald Trump and JD Vance will always choose the NRA and the gun lobby over our children. That’s the choice in this election.”