Vice President Harris is renewing her call for stricter gun control in the wake of a deadly mass shooting on the Fourth of July in Highland Park, Ill.
“As we all know, yesterday should have been a day to come together with family and friends to celebrate our nation’s independence. And instead, that community suffered a violent tragedy. Children, parents, grandparents — victims to a senseless act of gun violence,” the vice president said Tuesday at the National Education Association’s annual meeting in Chicago, just miles away from Highland Park.
“We need to end this horror. We need to stop this violence,” Harris said, calling for an “assault weapons ban.”
“So, let’s talk about what an assault weapon is designed to do. An assault weapon is designed to kill a lot of human beings quickly. There is no reason that we have weapons of war on the streets of America. We need reasonable gun safety laws,” she added.
Harris on Tuesday evening visited the site of the Fourth of July parade shooting in Highland Park, which killed seven people and left more than two dozen others injured.
A 21-year-old man, who authorities say was planning the attack for months, was charged with seven counts of first-degree murder.
Officials say he fired more than 70 bullets into the crowd and escaped by wearing women’s clothing to hide his identity.
Police have not determined a motivation for the shooting.
The shooting came weeks after President Biden signed bipartisan gun safety legislation that gives states more money to implement red flag laws and strengthens background checks.