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Transcript/Script(PLAYBOOK SLUG: US Guns TV
HEADLINE: Biden Taps Harris to Lead New Office to Prevent Gun Violence
TEASER: Republicans introducing bill to prevent the White House from declaring gun violence a national health emergency, enacting gun control measures
PUBLISHED: 9/22/2023,
BYLINE: Patsy Widakuswara
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: White House
VIDEOGRAPHER:
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: Page, Jepsen
VIDEO SOURCE (S): AP, AFP
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT:
VID APPROVED BY:
TYPE:
EDITOR NOTES: with a web story))
((INTRO:))
[[Amid stalled progress on gun control legislation in the U.S. Congress, President Joe Biden announced the creation of a new federal office for gun violence prevention. He appointed Vice President Kamala Harris, a former prosecutor of gun homicide cases, to lead it. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report.]]
((Various assault weapons and guns, AFP V000_32D37AY/ AFP V000_334W3HF/ Reuters Edit No: 2674))
((NARRATOR))
The U.S. is the most heavily armed country, where there are 120 guns for every 100 people. According to data from the Giffords Law Center, more than 116 people here die from gun violence every day.
((Biden walks into Rose Garden Guns Event, AP 4454933))
((NARRATOR))
On Friday, President Joe Biden decried the more than 500 mass shootings and over 30,000 gun-related deaths, in 2023 alone.
((https://app.frame.io/projects/107d8a33-963a-48f0-9001-585725df7d34/30f857fb-bcda-4a7f-b136-5bbab5685ec3 ))
((President Joe Biden))
“Guns are the number one killer of children in America. In the United States of America! More than car accidents, more than cancer or other diseases.”
((Biden Harris Rose Garden Guns Event, AP 4454933))
((NARRATOR))
He announced a new federal office to support implementation of existing legislation and push further gun control efforts, appointing Vice President Kamala Harris to lead it. The move is supported by gun control activists but slammed by arms industry lobbyists.
((Graphics))
((NARRATOR))
The National Rifle Association accused Biden of unfairly targeting citizens exercising their right to bear arms, under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution – an argument refuted by Harris.
((AP 4454933))
((Kamala Harris, US Vice President))
“President Biden and I believe in the Second Amendment, but we also know common sense solutions are at hand.”
((Rose Garden Guns Event, AP 4454933))
((NARRATOR))
It's unclear whether the office will impact actual policy, including those affecting neighboring Mexico, where gun control laws are strict, and most arms are smuggled from the U.S.
((Radio: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre))
((https://app.frame.io/projects/107d8a33-963a-48f0-9001-585725df7d34/30f857fb-bcda-4a7f-b136-5bbab5685ec3 ))
((Karine Jean-Pierre, White House Press Secretary))
“There will be regular contact with NSC and Homeland Security team. And so, we're going to do everything that we can to combat international trafficking and smuggling as well.”
((Various assault weapons and guns, AFP V000_32D37AY/ AFP V000_334W3HF/ Reuters Edit No: 2674))
((NARRATOR))
Earlier this week a group of House Republicans introduced a bill that would prohibit the president from declaring an emergency for the purposes of imposing gun control.
Patsy Widakuswara, VOA News, at the White House.
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateSeptember 22, 2023 21:13 EDT
Byline
Patsy Widakuswara
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
