Social Influencer Lynee Vanee Talks Gun Violence With Vice President Kamala Harris

The world of influence is not the easiest to conquer but when you have Vice President Kamala Harris step into your space, you’re doing something right.

Popular TikTok influencer Lynae Vanee met with Harris to talk about gun violence and the executive orders put in place to conquer it. Taking a break from her parking lot backdrop, Vanee and Harris appeared in an undisclosed location to break down what’s happening in the streets of the Black community.

@lynaevaneeI’m not sure if you guys know this, but right now, the National Association for Gun Rights is pushing for the legalization of assault weapons and high -capacity magazines. This Supreme Court Case National Association for Gun Rights v. City of Naperville would mean the legalization of these weapons in all 50 states. So when I had the opportunity to choose a topic to discuss with the @vp it had to be this one. You’ve heard me say many times on this show, no matter what we HAVE to keep voting. We are tired, yes, but if we do not keep raising our voices and showing up, the opposition will not stop. The Atlanta shooting and this case are just reminders that people are not a priority right now. We’ve done episode, after episode, after episode, about gun violence and loss and tragedy. It is clear the vast majority of Americans do not want these weapons out on the streets or in anybody’s stockpiles at home. So we have to press our legislators on both sides of the aisle to speak up.♬ original sound – Lynae Vanee

In the almost 5-minute video, the duo began covering a recent shooting in Atlanta, just two blocks from Vanee’s home, where Deion Patterson allegedly opened fire with a semi-automatic handgun at a medical facility shooting five women. Patterson was on the run for eight hours, before his arrest, NBC News reported.

While sipping her tea, Vanee highlights a pattern and queries Harris for answers:

“It seems like more and more communities are going to be touched by gun violence for the call to action to be loud enough for some type of meaningful legislation to happen,” Vanee said. “Why doesn’t there seem to be any talk of an executive order?”

Vice President Harris jumped in to inform Vanee—and almost 500,000 followers—about the work being done at the executive level. President Biden signed an executive order in March to potentially boost the number of background checks before the purchase of a gun. The numbers of mass shootings continue to rise—more than 100 this year— as well as the number of homicides in the Black community.

“While all this violence impacts communities in devastating ways, we know it does not do so equally,” Harris said. “Black people are only 13% of America’s population but more than 60% of homicide victims.”

Giffords Law Center To Prevent Gun Violence reported that more than 12,400 Black people die from gun violence each year on average.

Throughout some of the country’s largest counties, Black men, ages 18 to 25, are killed due to gun violence close to 19 times more than white residents. Those eye-opening statistics trickle down to young Black kids and women too. Almost 75% of gun deaths among Black children are from guns. Homicide rates from guns went up 78% from 2019 to 2021—the largest increase among women for any other race.

While voters wait for Congress to make a move on this critical issue, the CDC recommends programs, policies and practices to reduce gun violence.