Vice President Kamala Harris is pushing back against the belief gun control legislation means “everybody’s trying to come after your guns.”
During a CBS interview Wednesday morning, Harris was pressed on whether President Joe Biden will take executive action on gun control legislation following two fatal mass shootings in less than one week.
“We should first expect the United States Congress to act. I’m not willing to give up on what we must do to appeal to the hearts and minds and the reason of the members of the United States Senate,” Harris said. “I served in that body and I believe that it is possible, it has to be possible that people agree that these slaughters have to stop.”
She continued, “Reject the false choices, stop pushing it for sure. Stop pushing the false choice that this means everybody’s trying to come after your guns. That is not what we’re talking about.”
Watch her comments below:
#EXCLUSIVE: @VP @KamalaHarris joins @CBSThisMorning to discuss the recent mass shootings in the U.S. and the Biden administration's plan to tackle gun control. pic.twitter.com/FBNhqh84sb
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) March 24, 2021
Harris stressed gun control legislation is not about doing away with the Second Amendment, “It’s simply about saying we need reasonable gun safety laws. There’s no reason why we have assault weapons on the streets of a civil society. They are weapons of war. They are designed to kill a lot of people quickly.”
The vice president noted the House of Representatives passed a pair of gun control bills and claimed Biden is prepared to sign them.
On the topic of taking executive action, Harris suggested, “If we pass legislation it’s permanent. If the Congress acts then it becomes law.”
She indicated Biden is not excluding the possibility of executive action but reiterated it would be more permanent if Congress acts on the legislation.
The president called on Congress to act while delivering remarks at the White House on Tuesday.
“I don’t need to wait another minute, let alone an hour, to take common-sense steps that will save the lives in the future, and to urge my colleagues in the House and Senate to act,” Biden said.