Biden, Harris Unveil Measure to Tackle Gun Violence Amid Trump Clash | WATCH

Washington: US President Joe Biden on Thursday, September 27, signed a new executive order addressing the rising gun violence in the country, as his term comes to an end. In a post on X, POTUS said, "Join Vice President Kamala Harris and me as we deliver remarks on addressing the scourge of gun violence in America."

Biden said, "In order to end the problem of gun violence in America, we need to first talk about the problem of guns in America," amid the rise in gun-related violent incidents in the US.

"The number one cause of deaths of children in America is gun violence - even more than disease or accidents," he added.

"It is sickening," he asserted.

Earlier, in the day, Biden shared a post on X saying, "Today, I'll sign an Executive Order to crack down on emerging firearm threats like unserialized, 3D-printed guns and machine gun conversion devices."

He added that he will direct his Cabinet to help improve school-based active shooter drills, emphasising that “It's our job to do better.”

In the US, the homicides have dropped 17 per cent in the period since then, building on the largest-ever drop in homicides in 2023, the White House said earlier this week. However, mass shootings were also down 20% -per cent to date in 2024 compared to a year earlier.

This new order by the Biden Administration is a part of a broader push launched by Biden and Harris - both of whom are gun owners - to reduce gun violence since taking office in 2021. The US president signed the first major gun legislation in decades in July 2022, to block gun sales to domestic abusers, among others.

Back in June, the US surgeon general declared gun violence a public health crisis, calling for more research funding, better mental health access and other steps such as secure storage.

Machine gun conversion devices are already illegal, but White House officials say law enforcement officials are seeing them show up at crime scenes because they are small, cheap and easy to install.

Biden said the order would also direct new resources to communities suffering from gun violence.

"We have to keep going. There's so much more that we have to do," said Biden, who began fighting against gun violence when he was first elected to the U.S. Senate in the 1970s.

(Inputs from Reuters)