Quavo and Kamala Harris host gun violence prevention summit in Atlanta

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Georgia hip-hop star Quavo is not only an advocate for gun violence prevention, he’s also tragically close to the problem itself.

In 2022, his musical partner and nephew Takeoff – one third of the Grammy-winning band Migos – was shot and killed.

“I’m a victim,” Quavo said. “When I saw him lying there, I saw myself lying there.”

In the wake of Takeoff’s death, Quavo founded the Rocket Foundation, a group aimed at preventing gun violence and promoting policies to do so. The group held its annual summit at the Carter Center in Atlanta on Tuesday, with Vice President Kamala Harris as one of the key panelists.

“I feel like when I do something like the Rocket Foundation, I just want to elevate his legacy and keep his name alive,” Quavo said. “That’s why we’re here.”

On stage, Harris noted that Black Americans are ten times more likely to be victims of gun violence than their white counterparts. When questioned by the crowd of about 200 people in the room affected by gun violence, almost every hand went up.

“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Harris said. “We can never normalize this. We can never get used to it, and we certainly can’t accept it.

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Harris upheld calls echoed by Democrats in Congress to ban assault weapons, impose whistleblower laws and require background checks on gun buyers, even in private sales.

“I support the Second Amendment. I also believe that there is no reason for us to have assault weapons on the streets of America,” Harris said. “They are weapons of war. We need an assault weapons ban. I support the Second Amendment and we need universal background checks. I support the Second Amendment and we need warning laws.”

Harris also noted that guns are now the leading cause of death among American children, with most deaths being accidental. She said that even for people close to gun violence, the trauma can be lasting and that more mental health care and prevention are needed in schools and communities across the country.

“When we talk about health care, people have long acted like the body starts from the neck down,” Harris said. “Well, what about health care that we need from top to bottom? This is health care. So mental health is important. But we need to dedicate resources to it and what we know is that we need culturally competent mental health providers.

Gun safety advocates suffered a blow this week after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a Donald Trump-era ban on bump stocks – devices added to a weapon semi-automatic fire to allow it to fire more quickly. It is the same device used to kill dozens of people in the deadly 2017 Las Vegas shooting, which killed 60 people and injured hundreds.

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Tuesday’s trip was Harris’ fifth this year and second in just a few days. She also attended a Juneteenth block party in Atlanta, where the Biden-Harris campaign and the Georgia Democratic Party opened some of their first field offices for the 2024 election cycle.

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