Harris and Trump, different approaches on arms sales

2024-09-07 21:47:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The shooting at a high school in the state of Georgia on Wednesday brought back into the spotlight the high number of gun murders in the United States compared to other developed countries in the world, according to health experts. Vice President Kamala Harris calls for tougher gun laws. While, as Voice of America correspondent Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports, her Republican rival, Donald Trump, has promised to remove restrictions on gun ownership.

A shooting at a high school in Winder, Georgia on Wednesday left several people dead and injured. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris reflected on the incident during a campaign rally in New Hampshire.

"We must end this epidemic of gun violence in our country once and for all. These incidents must not happen," she said.

Gun violence in the United States received a lot of attention at the Democratic National Convention this year.

Vice President Harris laid out her priorities on this issue early on in her campaign.

"We will pass background check laws for gun buyers and ban the sale of assault weapons," she said.

Vice President Harris says she wants practical measures for gun safety and "not a ban on gun ownership."

The president of the Brady Center for Gun Violence Prevention, Kris Brown, believes Ms. Harris will.

“Candidate Harris has been very clear that gun violence, the number one killer of American children, is a problem that requires a multi-level approach to solve. We need a better policy," she said.

Former President Donald Trump reacted to the shooting in Georgia with a post on his social media platform "Truth". He expressed his support for the victims and called the attacker a "sick and deranged monster".

Conservatives often defend the right to bear arms, but this year's Republican National Convention did not prioritize the issue. The Republican National Convention took place in July, just two days after the assassination of their presidential candidate Donald Trump. This did not change his position on the issue of gun ownership.

"We cannot take away the weapons, because people need protection," he said.

Mr. Trump supported the right to bear arms when he was president and has promised to remove restrictions passed by President Biden's administration.

Gun-rights groups say if pro-gun Americans turn out in droves in the November election, they could sway the outcome of swing states.

"This will help to regain control of the White House so that we have an executive branch of government that does not affect gun rights, and to win races for members of the House of Representatives and Senate, strengthening gun rights." in Congress," says Alan Gottlieb of the Second Amendment Foundation.

However, Mr. Gottlieb emphasizes that gun rights have not historically been more important than the economy or immigration to voters./ VOA