Vice President Harris To Oversee New Gun Violence Prevention Office

Vice President Kamala Harris will oversee the first-ever federal gun violence prevention office, the White House announced Thursday ahead of a Rose Garden event on Friday.

The new office, a top priority for gun control advocates, will focus on carrying out executive and legislative action. That includes the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the first major gun safety legislation in 30 years, that President Joe Biden signed into law last year after a racially motivated mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, and a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 21 people. 

The law is designed to close certain background check loopholes, support gun violence prevention programs and invest in school safety and mental health services.

President Joe Biden said in a statement he will continue to urge Congress to pass gun control measures, such as universal background checks and a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

“But in the absence of that sorely-needed action, the Office of Gun Violence Prevention along with the rest of my Administration will continue to do everything it can to combat the epidemic of gun violence that is tearing our families, our communities, and our country apart,” Biden said.

White House staff secretary Stefanie Feldman, a longtime policy advisor to Biden on gun violence prevention, will direct the office, alongside gun violence prevention advocates Greg Jackson and Rob Wilcox, who will join the administration as deputy directors of the office.

Along with implementing the safer communities law, the office will focus on possible additional executive actions, coordinating federal support for communities impacted by gun violence and using its power to convene state leaders to advance state legislation, a senior administration official said.

Biden is moving forward with the new office now to make sure that the executive actions and safer communities law are implemented "to the fullest extent possible," the official said.

His mandate is to find additional actions the administration can take to work with states and cities to pass additional gun safety laws, to support their community violence intervention programs and prevention strategies and to work with law enforcement and gun violence survivors to ensure they’re doing everything they can, the official said.

“This is not just more of the same,” the official said. 

Law enforcement officers, gun violence survivors and experts, members of Congress, mayors will be among those who join Biden and Harris in the Rose Garden on Friday.

News emerged on Tuesday about Biden’s plans for a gun violence prevention office, a move that answered years-long calls from young activists who will be critical to Biden’s reelection hopes in 2024.

Biden’s move follows the safer communities law he signed last year and his numerous executive actions to reduce gun violence. He has repeatedly called on Congress to pass additional legislation, including banning assault weapons and enacting universal background checks.

March for our Lives, the student-led gun control group founded after the mass school shooting in Parkland, Fla., has been calling for an office and director of gun violence prevention since 2019. The group wrote to Biden as recently as last week reiterating its call for a dedicated office. An appointed director is needed to coordinate actions across the government, they wrote.

“This office is going to have a real, tangible impact on gun violence,” said David Hogg, co-founder of March For Our Lives. 

Kris Brown, president of Brady, the oldest national gun violence prevention organization, said in a statement that they are pleased with the presidnet's announcement, adding that they have advocated for a gun violence prevention office even before Biden took office.

“Tackling this epidemic will take a whole-of-government approach, and this new office will ensure the executive branch is focused and coordinated on proven solutions that will save lives,” Brown said, adding that Congress must still pass legislation that bans assault weapons and includes universal background checks.

Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation to create a gun violence prevention office while also pushing for executive action.

The bill’s sponsor in the Senate, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said on Wednesday that Biden’s move would strengthen the federal government’s implementation of the safer communities law and “save thousands of lives.”

Rebecca Morin contributed to this story.