Harris says the right to be safe is a civil right as Biden signs order on gun technology

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris said Thursday she believes the right to be safe is a civil right — and that means a right to live free from gun violence — as President Joe Biden signed an executive order that seeks to restrict new technologies that make guns easier to fire and obtain.

“It is a false choice to suggest you are either in favor of the Second Amendment, or you want to take everyone’s guns away,” Harris said during an East Room event. “I am in favor of the Second Amendment and I believe we need to reinstate the assault weapons ban.”

Harris said the American people have a right to “live, work, worship and learn without fear of violence — including gun violence.”

The Democratic nominee for president leads the first-ever White House office of gun violence prevention, which aims to curb violence, help communities recover from the trauma of that violence and coordinate the federal response. But Harris often says during campaigning that she’s a gun owner and insists she doesn’t want to take weapons away from responsible firearms owners.

The president sat down as a crowd gathered around him to sign the order, then he handed the pen to Harris.

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