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Biden and Harris in front of the White House: 28,793 dead by the end of August

Photo: JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS

U.S. President Joe Biden has created a new office within the White House to prevent gun violence and given the chairmanship to Vice President Kamala Harris. With her experience, the ex-prosecutor is the perfect choice.

The U.S. is "torn apart" by gun violence, Harris said on Friday in Washington on the occasion of her inauguration. The White House's Office of Gun Violence Prevention is primarily responsible for coordinating policies. Attempts to reform gun laws in the country have failed for years due to resistance from Congress.

"We have no time to lose, no life to lose," Harris said. "After every massacre with firearms, we hear a simple message, the same message throughout the country." The U.S. citizens begged the rulers to do something. "I've seen with my own eyes what a bullet does to the human body," she said. "We can't normalize this."

In the United States, only Congress can pass a reform of U.S. gun laws. There, the Republicans have a majority in the House of Representatives, the party is against any noticeable restriction of the right to gun ownership. Attempts to tighten gun laws have repeatedly failed over the years due to resistance from Republicans.

Harris can make a name for himself

Since taking office in January 2021, Democratic President Joe Biden has therefore only introduced restrictions by decree. These have little impact.

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For Harris, who is rather unpopular with the population, the new role means more attention a good year before the presidential election in November 2024. In the future, it will also work on an issue on which a significant part of the population agrees with the Biden administration. The Democrats want to put the issue in the foreground in the election campaign – and thus win votes from young people in particular.

In the United States, there are more guns than inhabitants, and the right to own guns is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, according to the prevailing legal opinion. Tens of thousands of people are killed every year. In the first eight months of the current year, the number of victims fell slightly compared to the same period last year, to 28,793, according to figures from the non-governmental organization Gun Violence Archive.

slü/AFP/AP