Harris slams "false choice" that gun control means getting rid of 2nd Amendment
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Vice President Kamala Harris said Wednesday that she's "not willing to give up" on pushing the Senate to pass gun control bills before President Biden turns to executive action, and she slammed Republicans for promoting the "false choice" that commonsense gun laws mean getting rid of the 2nd Amendment.
Why it matters: Republican lawmakers have frequently attacked Democrats for pushing their agenda on gun control in the wake of mass shootings, insisting that the measures would be ineffective and only harm responsible gun owners.
Driving the news: Harris' comments on CBS "This Morning" come a day after Biden called on Congress to tighten gun control laws following the mass shootings in Colorado and Georgia.
- Biden urged Congress to pass the two House-approved bills that would require universal background checks on all commercial gun sales, and he also floated renewing federal bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
- White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that Biden is considering using executive action to address gun violence, but Harris stressed that she views it as a priority for Congress to pass bills in order to make gun control laws permanent.
- Pressed on how she can get 10 Republican senators to vote for gun control, Harris responded: "Elections matter."
What she's saying: "It is time for Congress to act and stop with the false choices. This is not about getting rid of the 2nd Amendment, it’s simply about saying we need reasonable gun safety laws," Harris said.
- "I believe that it is possible, it has to be possible, that people agree that these slaughters have to stop," she added.
- "Stop pushing the false choice that this means everybody's trying to come after your guns. That is not what we're talking about."
The other side: "The Democrats' proposal every time is always the same, which is take away guns from law-abiding citizens," Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told Fox News.
- "That is their political agenda every single day. It doesn't work, it doesn't reduce crime. And in fact it makes it worse because it disarms the potential victims and makes them vulnerable to criminals," Cruz added.
