Speaking in Chicago, just miles from where the July Fourth Highland Park shooting occurred, Harris brought loud cheers for pressing Congress to ban such guns, "assault weapons" meaning semi-automatic rifles, as they did in 1994.
"We have made some progress. For the first time in 30 years, our president, Joe Biden, signed a federal gun safety bill," she said. "And it strengthens background checks, and it closes what we call the boyfriend loophole, and it includes funding for mental health services and school security. But we have more to do. We have more to do. And Congress needs to have the courage to act and renew the assault weapons ban."
The ban from the 1994 bill expired in 2004 and has not been restored.
She later cited the liability shield issue.
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"Let’s talk about what an assault weapon is assigned to do. An assault weapon is designed to kill a lot of human beings quickly," Harris said, again drawing cheers. "There is no reason that we have weapons of war on the streets of America. We need reasonable gun safety laws. And we need to have Congress stop protecting those gun manufacturers with the liability shield. Repeal it! Repeal it! So we cannot be deterred."
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The Vice President made the comments during a previously planned trip to Chicago to speak to the National Education Association, the nation's largest teachers union. Becky Pringle, the group's president, introduced Harris.
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Robert "Bobby" E. Crimo III, the 21-year-old suspect in the deadly shooting at an Independence Day parade in Illinois, seems to have shared public videos that preview his wish to commit acts of violence, including one video showing himself driving along the parade route where the mass shooting took place.
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The shooting left seven people dead and dozens injured. President Joe Biden has also cited the liability shield issue — during the State of the Union address and also in remarks at the White House on June 2.
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"We should repeal the liability shield that often protects gun manufacturers from being sued for the death and destruction caused by their weapons," he said. "They’re the only industry in this country that has that kind of immunity."
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The statement drew pushback from critics who point out that other industries do enjoy similar protection.
The shield issue was not handled in the gun control bill Biden later signed into law, though there could be renewed momentum for doing so in the wake of the Chicagoland shooting.
Harris reiterated another Biden gun control phrase, "enough," during her opening remarks.
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