STATEMENT: AAPI Victory Alliance on the Biden administration creating a new Office for Gun Violence Prevention

WASHINGTON — Today the AAPI Victory Alliance released the following statement upon the Biden administration's establishment of the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. The new Office of Gun Violence Prevention will be overseen by Vice President Harris, who has been a leader in the Administration’s effort to end our nation’s gun violence epidemic.

AAPI Victory Alliance Executive Director Varun Nikore issued the following statement:

“AAPI Victory Alliance supports the Biden administration’s action announced today to address our country’s gun violence problem head-on. In partnership with our coalition of gun violence prevention groups, we have long advocated for a coordinated federal response to this epidemic that has plagued our communities for too long. President Biden has taken more meaningful executive action than any other President to end the trauma and tragedy of gun violence that so many Americans face.

“This is a winning issue for President Biden. Our early voter poll shows gun safety is a top issue for Asian American and Pacific Islanders in Virginia with 70% of AAPI respondents in the state saying they are “much more likely” to back a candidate who supports universal background checks. This is an early indicator of a monumental paradigm shift in AAPI issue priorities—and today’s announcement will undoubtedly earn more trust between our community and the Biden Administration.

“And while we applaud the historic launch of the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, we continue to call on the Administration and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate the right-wing gun industrial complex and the National Rifle Association as they continue to prey on the fears of AAPIs and abhorrently market guns to a vulnerable community.

“We owe it to the next generation who have been sounding the alarm. One of the first mass school shootings in the United States took place in 1989 when a white gunman targeted Southeast Asian children at an elementary school in Stockton, Calif. Over three decades later, we’re still fighting for a world where we can send our children to school free of the fear of gun violence. This Office will accelerate President Biden’s work to save lives and allow all Americans the freedom to live in safer communities.”

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