Days after Quavo visited Washington, D.C. to advocate for further measures to end gun violence in the United States, President Joe Biden has announced the establishment of the White House's Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
The Migos rapper, who was personally impacted by gun violence with the murder of Takeoff last year, met with Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday, Sept. 20 in a day that also included a meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional leadership. Additionally, the 32-year-old attended a panel on gun violence prevention and an evening reception with lawmakers and advocates.
On Thursday, the White House confirmed that Biden will officially announce the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. Overseen by VP Harris, the office seeks to reduce gun crime across the country by implementing and expanding legislative action. Stefanie Feldman will serve as its director, while gun violence prevention advocates Greg Jackson and Rob Wilcow will serve as deputy directors.
The White House issued an exclusive video to Complex (above) showing some of Quavo's chat with Harris, where he was also joined by Takeoff's mother Titania Davenport. "I want this to change," he told Harris. "I want my nephew life to mean a lot, to a lot of people around the world, and most definitely the culture." He also opened up about how hard losing Takeoff has been on him, and how he finds it difficult to talk about. "I feel like it's just so hard for us even just to say we hurting," Quavo said.
In a message directed at Congress, Quavo shared, "I came to D.C. to bring the pain of gun violence directly to the people who can do something about it. Our communities, my family, your family, no family should have to suffer this type of loss when we have ways to stop it. The pain of gun violence is preventable, and the anguish felt by my family is a pain shared by many. We're rallying together, pushing for solutions like community violence intervention that build safer communities by funding community-led solutions, including street and hospital-based violence intervention, job and entrepreneurship training, housing support and financial assistance."
In a statement, Biden said he would "continue to urge Congress to take commonsense actions that the majority of Americans support like enacting universal background checks and banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines."
