Vice President Kamala Harris appears during Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund’s annual Gun Sense University conference at McCormick Place in Chicago on Aug. 11, 2023.
The vice president called for stronger red flag laws and background checks and an end to legal immunity for gun manufacturers in her 30-minute conversation with actor Jason George and Moms Demand Action Executive Director Angela Ferrell-Zabala. Little more than a week ago, speaking at a campaign fundraiser in Milwaukee, Harris noted that “the scourge of gun violence” has become the leading cause of death for children in the United States.
The endorsement by the gun control groups is part of a Biden strategy that has included sewing up joint endorsements from labor unions and abortion rights organizations to show support among key Democratic constituencies even as some Democrats have questioned whether he should run for a second term. Her visit to Chicago also marked the third anniversary of selection by Biden as his running mate. Before her arrival the reelection campaign issued a memorandum lauding her “as an essential partner in the ticket’s electoral success” in 2020 and “a strong political force for 2024.”“Harris remains uniquely popular with the key constituencies that make up the Biden-Harris coalition that resulted in the most votes for a presidential ticket in American history in 2020,” the campaign said.