US President Joe Biden, centre, signs an executive order on gun violence prevention in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on September 26, 2024. Photo: AFP
US President Joe Biden signed a new order on Thursday that seeks to restrict new gun technologies that make it easier to obtain guns and improve schools' shooting drills.
The executive order was announced by Biden and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris at a White House event.
It was the first gun-related event Biden attended with Harris since he named her to oversee an office on gun violence prevention created one year ago, a White House official said.
What does the new gun control order entail?
As per the order, the president's staff will assess how active shooter drills may cause trauma to students and educators.
The order also aims to form a new task force that will look into the threats posed by machine-gun-conversion devices, through which a semi-automatic pistol can be converted into a fully automatic firearm.
The task force will also look at the growing proliferation of 3D-printed guns, which are easily printed using an internet code and are untraceable as they have no serial numbers.
The task force has to submit its report in 90 days — not long before Biden is due to leave office.
What did Kamala Harris say?
"I believe the right to be safe is a civil right," Harris said as the people attending the event cheered for her.
She said the American people have a right to "live, work, worship and learn without fear of violence — including gun violence."
"We're experiencing an epidemic of gun violence," Harris said, noting that more children were now killed by guns than any other cause, including car accidents or cancer.
Most Democrats support stricter gun laws in light of repeated incidents of gun violence and mass shootings while Republicans generally oppose stricter laws, citing the right to bear arms enshrined in the US Constitution's Second Amendment.
