Remarks by Vice President Harris in a Moderated Conversation with Annie Gonzalez During the National "Fight for Our Freedoms" College Tour

"Good afternoon.

Can we hear it for Pio?

Oh, it's good to be with everybody. Please, let's have a seat.

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Hi, friend.

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This is the College of Southern Nevada. What do we expect?

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I love you. I love being with the leaders of our country. I love -- I just am so excited to be with everyone. Thank you.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Yeah. Well, let me just start by saying, Annie, thank you so very much for being with me yet again as we talk with the leaders of our country.

So, I decided to -- to start this tour, "Fight for Our Freedoms," for a number of reasons that have everything to do with who you are, the students who are here. I truly believe that the future and the present of our country requires your leadership.

I am here because I want for you that you will be able to live your best life. I want for you that you know the rights that you have and know that you are encouraged to fight for those rights and those freedoms.

When I look at who you are, in terms of your generation, for most who are here, I also am so aware of what you have uniquely experienced. You are the generation that has only known the climate crisis. You are a generation that saw George Floyd be murdered. You are a generation that has witnessed the highest court in our land take a right that had been formally recognized, such that you will have fewer rights than your mothers or grandmothers. You are a generation that grew up having active shooter drills.

The issues that are at stake in our country right now are not intellectual or academic for you. These are lived experiences. And what I know about you and your style of leadership is that you're not having it. You're not waiting for other people to figure it out.

You are leading, you are stepping out, and you are prepared to take control of these issues in a way that we uplift the -- the life of the people, in a way that we protect freedoms, including just the freedom to be.

So, that's why I'm doing this tour.

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And because I also want you to know that in the midst of these challenges, in the midst of a moment where I do believe there is an intentional and full-on attack against so many hard-fought, hard-won fundamental freedoms and rights, I also want to remind you: It doesn't have to be this way. It does not have to be this way.

And when you all start voting in your numbers, I know it won't be. And so, that's why I'm here.

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Yeah.

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Thank you, Madam President.

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And thank you for your role of what I take as elected leadership in this body. Congratulations.

So, for all the leaders here, I know -- you know, I've been reading about this student body. I've been reading about how this exceptional educational institution thinks of you and nurtures you. And -- and so I will say this. I -- I am clear that you, on many different levels, will make a difference, not only in the state of Nevada, in our country, but in the world.

One of the ways of the many that you will make a difference is by voting.

Elections matter. You know, back in 2020, during the height of a pandemic, we had the highest rate of youth voting that we have seen -- historic numbers. I would like to see, in fact, a show of hands. Can I see who voted in 2020 or 2022? Right.

Because you voted, Joe Biden is President of the United States and I am Vice President of the United States. Because you voted. Because you voted.

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We did it, Joe. High five.

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We did it.

But voting -- and here's the thing: You know, we will talk often about the importance of voting in the -- the historical context of the fact that people marched, fought, shed blood, and died for the right to vote for so many of the people who are here.

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So, that's a reason to vote: to honor the struggle and the sacrifices of those who imagine that you would be sitting here right now and we would be having this conversation, honoring that legacy that we have each inherited.

The other thing that we should know is that elections matter. When you vote, you have the ability to determine the outcome of who will be making decisions on issues like we have discussed. And there's so many leaders surrounding issues like immigration, on issues like the climate crisis, on issues like what the President and I have been fighting for to reduce student loan debt on issues --

On a variety of issues that we will discuss today, almost every one of them will ultimately be decided by the people who vote in their numbers on the issues they care about. Right?

People don't just get elected to these offices; they're elected by the people. So, voting is your way of determining who sits in those offices and who they see and who they think of when they're making these important decisions that will impact all of us.

The other point I would make on this -- because it's very real, and we're here to have real talk -- there are powerful forces in our country that are trying to make it more difficult for you to vote.

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Understand that. You see how, in Georgia -- you know, first of all, historic turnout in 2020, and you could almost map and see that -- first of all, that scared a lot of people. And then they started trying to pass laws to make it more difficult to vote.

In Georgia, they passed a law that makes it illegal to give people who are standing in line to vote -- make it illegal to give them food and water. What happened to "love thy neighbor"? The hypocrisy abounds.

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States who are passing laws that will say -- that make it more difficult for college students to vote, you who know how much is at stake. States that are getting rid of ballot drop boxes, trying to eliminate or reduce early voting.

You know who needs to do early voting? People who work two and three jobs and can't take off a day of work.

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The people who know that it's important that we have paid family leave and paid sick leave and affordable childcare.

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So, see the connections. And then, to the young leaders here, I'd say: Don't ever let anybody silence you. And understand when people are trying.

So, there are a lot of reasons to vote. And, in particular, again, I will go back to what we saw in 2020 and 2022. When people voted in their numbers, we saw how change can happen. Again, the climate crisis. Again, what we need to do on so many issues that impact young people, that impact people of every stage of life.

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And, in particular, working people. In particular, people who are in low-income communities, people -- in particular, people who have been left out or overlooked. Right? So, I would urge everyone here -- okay, now I'm going to be -- I'm going to engage in a cliché.

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I got a government website. Vote.gov. Please go on to Vote.gov, and it will tell you if you're registered to vote, and it'll help you register to vote and tell your family and friends. But that's a quick and easy way to do it. And the earlier you register to vote, then you just know it's done, and then we can take it to the next step.

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Yeah.

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That's right. That's the power of the people.

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It's the power of the people. Yep.

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Yeah.

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Yeah. One October. Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Yep, that's right. Which I'm heading.

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Yeah. Yeah.

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So, to your point, Annie, first of all, probably a lot of people here know, but as of today, the number one killer of children in America is gun violence. Not some form of cancer, not car accidents -- gun violence. The number one killer of children in America today.

One in five people in our country have a family member who was killed by gun violence. And then when you talk about the disproportionate impact on communities of color, the numbers most recently that I saw, I think, African Americans 10 percent more likely -- 10 times more likely -- excuse me; Latinos twice as likely.

And, you know, we talk about mass shootings like One October, which we must never forget, but we also must remember that we must pay attention to everyday gun violence that is happening in communities around our country. And those lives are as precious as any life.

And so, I have been working on this for a long time. And I will tell you that, again, there -- there -- it's not rocket science in terms of what we need to do. Okay? But you got a bunch of feckless people who lack courage, who are in the United States Congress, who are pushing a false choice, which suggests you're either in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone's guns away.

And it's a false choice. I'm in favor of the Second Amendment, but we need an assault weapons ban. We need universal background checks. We need red flag laws.

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And here's what I'm going to do: I'm going to ask the students here -- if you'll indulge me, I'm going to ask you a question and ask you to raise your hand if this applies to you. Who here between -- and I'm going to ask you to hold up your hands. Keep them up. Who here between kindergarten and 12th grade had to, at school, have an active shooter drill?

I would ask the older adults to take a look. I'd ask the media to take a look at all the hands that are up. Okay. You can put them down.

I'm going to tell you something: I don't think these people who call themselves leaders understand what you guys have been through, that our children, that our young people, with the brilliance of their mind, are sitting in a classroom with some part of their brain being aware of the fact that somebody could bust in that classroom with a gun.

And what that has meant for our young people in terms of the trauma and the fear they are living with, even if they've not personally experienced gun violence --

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This is real. And, again, I say to the young leaders here: It doesn't have to be this way.

You know, we once had an assault weapons ban. It had a -- it had a term on it -- a shelf life. It has since expired, but we once had an assault weapons ban. It doesn't have to be this way. And let's be clear, we're only talking about a reasonable approach to a big problem.

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If Joe Biden were here, he might say, "BFD," but I'm not going to say that. But it's kind of -- it kind of is, right?

Think about this: It's reasonable that you just might want to know before someone can buy a lethal weapon if they've been found by a court to be a danger to themselves or others. You just might want to know.

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Right? It's -- it's reasonable to say that weapons of war, assault weapons, which were designed to kill a lot of people quickly, have no place on the streets of a civil society. It's just reasonable.

But, again, I take us back to the point that elections matter. And it is critically important that we have courage and leadership to take on this issue and just have reasonable approaches to something that is affecting us in profound ways.

And, in fact, you know, there's so many issues that also raise the -- the other big issue that we don't talk enough about, but that your generation -- the students here -- do have the courage to talk about, and that's mental health.

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You guys have the courage to talk about it. And here's what I'm going to issue. I haven't done this before, Annie, but --

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I'm about to make an official call to action as Vice President. I am calling on the young leaders of today to enter the mental health professions and to take this take charge. There are a variety of the types of work that you can do that is about culturally competent, peer-based support for each other and for our communities around this issue.

Because the level, for so many reasons, of undiagnosed and, therefore, untreated trauma in our communities that --

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that must and can be addressed is profound. And let's understand: Exposure to violence is one of them. You know what else is trauma inducing? Poverty. Right?

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So, when we talk about the levels of trauma that certain communities are experiencing, I really do believe that we need the young leaders who are here to really consider taking up your role of leadership in many ways, including considering entering mental health professions as part of your way of serving the community and the country.

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Oh. All right.

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Vote.gov. That's great.

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That's great.

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Yeah.

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Where is Rebecca? Wave your hand.

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Can't see -- oh, there you -- okay. Got it.

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Yeah.

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Thank you, Rebecca.

Thank you. Thank you.

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So, as I mentioned earlier about this generation, we just, over a year ago, witnessed the highest court in our land -- the court of Thurgood Marshall and RBG -- take a constitutional right that had been recognized from the people of America, from the women of America, and thereafter, in states around our country, laws being proposed and passed that would criminalize healthcare providers -- some providing for very significant prison time -- that would punish women and people who simply deserve to be able to make a decision for themselves about their life.

And I think it's really important on this issue to agree: One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling her what to do with her body.

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That's her decision. We respect her ability to be smart enough to know what is in her own best interest without a bunch of folks in the state capitol trying to tell her what to do.

And by the way, in half these states where they're passing these restrictions, I am clear that half of them don't even know how a woman's body works.

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(Laughs.)

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And here's -- you know, we're going to keep it real in this conversation. Everybody is grown here. And -- and I would urge the students here to always remember -- and I know your -- your professors will teach this -- but on any policy matter that you are hearing about, always ask yourself, "How will this impact a real person?" Okay?

Because, on this issue, some would try to make it, you know, "Oh, this is intellectual; this is, you know, political discussion." No, it's very real. There are people around our country who are silently suffering in a tremendous way.

You know, these laws being proposed and passed -- and this is where there are difficult things to think and talk about on the subject but -- but must be acknowledged if we're going to keep it real.

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Proposing and passing laws that make no exception for rape or incest. Now, many of you know I started my career as a prosecutor, and I'm going to tell you one of the biggest reasons why. When I was in high school, my best friend was being molested by her stepfather. And I learned about it, and I said to her, "You got to come and stay and live with us." I called my mother. My mother said, "Yes, she has to come and stay with us," and she did.

And so, I decided I wanted to do the work that was about protecting women and children. And I focused, then, on those kinds of crimes.

Now, understand that these extremists are saying to someone who has survived an act of violence to their body, has survived a violation to their body, that that person does not have the right to make a decision about what happens to their body next. That is immoral. That is immoral.

And that's what's happening, Rebecca, on this issue. It is a very real issue, not to mention how it disproportionately impacts low-income women. You know, the va- -- the majority of women who seek abortion care are mothers.

And, hopefully -- but we can't take it for granted -- that she has affordable childcare and paid family leave and has extra money in the bank to afford a bus ticket, a train ticket, or a plane ticket to leave the state where she is to go seek care in a state like Nevada, for example, which I thank the leaders of Nevada and the majority women on -- women legislature for for keeping it real here.

But in surrounding states, where those working women -- if she's working two or three jobs, if she has a couple of kids, what that means. Not to mention -- and I'm -- here again, I'm going to -- let's keep it real -- what it means if you are faced with such a difficult personal decision.

And for those people who are in states that are restricting these rights, you have to go into an airport and go through TSA and get on a plane with a bunch of strangers to go to a strange place. Can't -- you know, family members may not be able to afford to take that trip with you. Just think about what this means to real people.

And, again, elections matter. Because back to your point, Joe Biden has been very clear. When we have the majority of people in Congress who agree, by the way, simply that it's not the government's decision -- no matter their personal believes, but that the government shouldn't making this decision -- should not be making this decision for people. And if they, then, pass a law putting back in place the protections that the Court took away -- the Court took these rights; Congress can put them back in place. And Joe Biden has been clear, when they put the protections of Roe v. Wade back into law, he will sign that bill.

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So, elections matter. Elections matter.

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Yeah.

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That's right.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Yep.

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Yep.

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You know, I love how you framed this. Because at the root of that point is something I believe very strongly, which is nobody should be made to fight alone, especially when they are fighting for their rights to just be.

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To just be.

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That's exactly right.

And so, you know, my history on this issue includes, back in 2000- -- and I'll just offer this by way of contrast. Back in 2004 -- I know some of you weren't even born then.

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Back in the olden days of 2004 ---- I was proud to be one of the first elected officials in the country to perform same-sex marriages when I was in San Francisco.

And, by the way, it wasn't very politically popular at the time, but I didn't care because this is a civil rights issue --

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-- as much as it is a human rights issue. My parents met when they were active in the Civil Rights Movement back in the day. This is fundamentally about justice, about equality -- about equality under the law.

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And what we are looking at now -- so, I look at 2004 -- so, next year, it'll be 20 years ago -- contrast with laws that are being pla- -- passed in states like Florida, "Don't Say Gay," where I think about the young teachers who are in their 20s, who, if they are in a same-sex relationship, are afraid to put up a photograph of themselves and their partner for fear they may lose their job -- a job that is one of the most noble professions, a job that is about a commitment to educate other people's children.

And, you know, as it is, we don't pay them enough.

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And -- and --

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And this is how teachers are being treated for just being themselves. Laws that are criminalizing and that are -- that are also encouraging the -- the judgment and the marginalizing of our LGBTQ+ friends. And -- and you cannot underestimate -- you know this; we all here know this -- the fear that it is striking in the community.

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And -- and with so many of these issues, the intent, I believe, to make people feel alone.

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And when -- when anyone is made to feel alone, it's very disempowering. And that's why community is so important and coalition is so important.

So, here's -- here's, I think, at this point, a well-known secret about me: I am -- I love Venn diagrams. I love Venn diagrams. And whenever I am presented with kind of, like, this is complicated, I always wonder, "Is there a Venn diagram to figure this stuff out?"

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Right? Right? So -- so, I asked my team, "Let's do a Venn diagram. From which states are we seeing attacks on LGBTQ rights, attacks on voting rights, and attacks on reproductive freedom?" And you would not be shocked to know there was a significant overlap. Okay?

But what that also presents is, ah, look at this opportunity to think about strengthening the coalition: bringing folks together who have been fighting for voting rights, bringing together folks who have been fighting for reproductive health rights, bringing together folks --

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who are fighting for LGBTQ+ rights. And building our coalition, remembering the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us.

And I would add another point. I'm traveling our country.

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I believe that part of the agenda that is at foot is to try and divide our nation --

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--to pit people against each other based on just who they are, to divide and distract. The antidote -- the antidote that we have to that is to know how much we have in common and to build coalition and build community and fight back against those who would try to divide us as a nation.

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Our unity is our strength. Our diversity is our power. There is no question about it. It is a truth, period.

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I love that. Understanding that fear is universal, instead of that being something that divides us, instead use that to unify us.

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That's right.

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And dignity. And, again, I just can't stress it enough. You know, it is -- it is the freedom to make decisions about one's own body. It is the freedom to have access to the ballot box. It is the freedom that one should have from fear, the freedom that one should have from hate and bigotry and bullying.

And, ultimately, it is just the freedom to be -- to just be.

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To just be. You know, that's so much of what this is about.

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And -- but we can't take any of these freedoms for granted. And so -- you know, but understand that we know what we are fighting for. This is not fighting against something; it's fighting for.

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And -- and what we are also fighting for are foundational principles of our country. And in that way, it is important to remember this is a fight based on love of country. This is a fight based on believing in the ideals upon which our country was founded and fighting for us to achieve those ideals.

And what greater and more pure expression of love for our country can we have than believing in those ideals and fighting for us to attain them?

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That's what this is. And I believe that is a true form of patriotism. Don't anybody tell you otherwise. Don't anyone tell you otherwise.

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Yeah.

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Right.

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Yeah. Right.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Right. Right. Right.

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Right.

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(Laughs.)

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Well, I -- one of the things that we -- again, because people voted -- again, I'm going to ask ev- -- raise hands, who here has a family member who has diabetes? Look around the room. Okay.

How many years we've been hearing the stories, in particular, of our seniors who have had to make a terrible choice about whether they could either afford their insulin, taking it at the prescription a doctor gave them, versus paying their rent or being able to buy enough food to eat. So many, for years and years and years.

One of the great accomplishments that we have made is we have now capped the cost of insulin at $35 a month for seniors.

It's huge. It's huge, especially when you know how many in communities of color, immigrant communities, the high rate of diabetes that exists and how this is going to be a game changer for our seniors.

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I'm proud of that. I'm proud of the work that we are continuing to do to fight for student loan forgiveness. We still have more to do there. There -- we know that -- that we have a lot of students who, for example, are Pell Grant recipients and what we are doing to increase that grant, but also to bring down -- we tried to do it so that Pell Grant recipients would get $20,000 in loan forgiveness.

The Court undid what we did, but we're still fighting. And so, we've been dealing with debt relief. But that's something I'm very proud of.

And then there's the work that we are doing on climate. You all have only known the climate crisis. I mean, here in Nevada, they call it whiplash in terms of weather experiences, right? Either there's a drought or there's a flood, right? So, it's like whiplash weather, right?

And -- or you -- I've been -- you know, and I'm sure many here been to Lake Mead. You know, we talked about the -- the bath -- the circle, the bath ring, because of how quickly the water receded in Lake Mead.

And so, it is a big issue and what we have been doing on this is saying that, one, stop the denial, of which there was a whole lot. We are saying that we're very clear, extreme weather, which causes extraordinary damage, which is damage not only, in particular, to low-income communities who have a very difficult time recovering, but also just damage that is to our -- this beautiful Earth that we are blessed to live on.

But extreme weather connected to greenhouse gas emissions; greenhouse gas emissions connected to human behaviors. It's kind of a no-brainer. And so, what we are doing is saying that we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We need to invest in renewable energy. We need to invest in the clean energy economy, things like solar paneling, wind turbines, electric vehicles, the work that we can do to actually bring down the harm that we are doing to this planet.

And I'm very excited about that work, and I'm very proud of that work. There -- we have -- our administration has invested -- and this has been a total game changer -- in the time we have been in office, we are now on track to invest $1 trillion in addressing the climate crisis around adaptation and resilience and investing in a clean energy economy.

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And I will tell you, we are making a particular effort to also acknowledge that while the climate crisis impacts everyone, it does not do so equally. Because when you look at how the effects are on low-income communities, in history- -- in communities that have been historically low income, and the -- the damage to communities that they cannot recover from, it's pretty significant. And so, we are paying attention to what we are doing with those resources.

But, again, I will also say, like we talked about voting and some of these other issues, there is what we must do and where we must go with a sense of urgency. But also understand, there are folks out there who trying to get in the way of the progress. Understand that when we're looking at Big Oil and what they've historically done in trying to slow -- first, push the denial narrative and then slow down the progress in saying, "Oh, it's going to -- it's going to be too difficult to tr- -- to transition so quickly into a clean energy economy."

You know, the same kind of people who will say, oh, it's going to be so difficult for us -- any of us -- to do what we do.

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You know, those kinds of people who say, "Oh, nobody like you was ever done this before, so maybe it's not possible."

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It's possible.

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It's possible.

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And on the issue of the climate crisis, it is very doable, and we are seeing the progress that we can make.

But, again, also in terms of what is happening in the country, understand -- on the issue of the climate crisis, let's also have real conversations about the thing we call environmental justice, which is justice for all communities, understanding not everyone is impacted equally.

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If you look around the map of the country, some of the communities with the poorest air quality are communities of color, immigrant communities, low-income communities.

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You look at it in terms of access to affordability for electric vehicles or charging stations. You look at it in terms of, if there is a flood, who can recover because they have the -- the assets, because they're a homeowner --

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-- to actually repair the house versus who does not. So, the environmental justice piece of this is extraordinarily important. And I will, therefore, emphasize another point.

There are some forces in our country that are trying to say that it is a bad term to talk about DEI. They're trying to do to "DEI" what they did with "woke."

And we got to pay attention to that. They're trying to suggest that it is somehow wrong to talk about DEI -- diversity, equity, and inclusion -- that it is somehow wrong to talk about the fact that when you look at, for example, the fact that I'm the first woman of color to be Vice President of the United States --

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-- that the piece about diversity is somehow not important.

When we talk about equity, here's the thing: It's a very basic point. We want that everyone has equal opportunity, right?

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Well, yes. But it doesn't mean that that will be achieved because everyone gets an equal amount, knowing that not everybody starts out on the same base.

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Equity says, "Let's take into account where do people start out." Because if you're only talking about equal amount and people don't start out in the same place, it's just going to repeat itself.

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So, the concept of equity is about saying, "Let's pay attention to that."

Inclusion, it's a simple point: who's not in the room. Pay attention to who's not in the room, and let's figure out how they can have an open door -- much less, encouragement -- to be in the room where important decisions are being made about all of us.

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And so, EJ -- environmental justice -- takes into account things like equity. But I, again, will emphasize: Understand what's happening in our country where people who consider themselves very important leaders are trying to say it's bad to talk about DEI. They're trying to put pressure on corporations to not invest in DEI. They're trying to undo corporations and other private sectors -- sector industries who are paying attention to this.

And we got to fight against this. We have to fight against this because it will lead to very bad outcomes.

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And I say that because it is very clear: Diversity actually makes us stronger, both in terms of who we are socially and societally, but it also makes our economy stronger when we pay attention to these issues.

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DEI.

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It really is so important to see someone like yourself in this position. The amount of people that you are inspiring to join office, to go to college, to pursue their dreams is -- is so powerful. And a lot of the times, I know we cannot become what we don't see.

So, y'all out there, keep fighting for your rights, fighting for your freedom, fighting -- fighting for your mental health.

And -- and do as Madam Vice President said: Get into the mental health space. We need more Black, brown, and POCs occupying those spaces.

Yeah.

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That's right. That's right.

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That's right. That's right.

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So, I'll start with this. For the students, in particular, who are here, you've already probably had -- and I promise you, you will -- in your life and career have a few, if not many, experiences where you are the only one like you in a room, be it a meeting room, a briefing room, a board room, a courtroom. And what I want you to remember is that we are all in that room with you.

I want you to remember that, when you walk in those rooms, you come with people and you carry the voice of people who are so proud of you and expect a lot of you -- expect that when you walk in that room chin up, shoulders back, you will carry the voice that is your voice that represents so many.

I want that you will each remember that and remember a moment like this where there is collective pride for who you are and great expectations for what you will continue to do. I want you to remember that, you know, you will hear many times, "Oh, that can't be done." "Nobody like you has done that before." "Oh, you're too young." And I want you to not listen. Do not listen.
Don't hear "no." I eat "no" for breakfast. Don't hear "no."

Always believe in what can be, unburdened by what has been. That is what I want for you.

And I will say this also. You guys are at a very special point in your life. And enjoy this moment. You are sitting next to people who invariably may ask you to be godparent to their children, may ask you to be in their wedding, people who you may meet over the years. So, create those bonds, which I promise you will be, for so many of you, lifelong. And enjoy this moment and feed your brain.

And then, the last point, which is not advice, but more of a lecture. So, I'm just going to end with this about this fight for our freedoms. And this is a group of students and leaders who understand many things and many cultures and many languages and a lot about the world.

So, here's what I'm going to share with you. As Vice President, I have now met with over 100 world leaders: presidents, prime ministers, chancellors, and kings. When we walk in those rooms representing the United States of America, we walk in those rooms with the self-appointed and earned authority to talk about the importance of democracy, rule of law, human rights.

But here's the thing about being a role model. Everybody here knows this. When you're a role model, people watch what you do to see if it matches what you say.

People around the world are watching what's happening in our country right now. And one of my greatest fears is that, for example, let's say young women who are fighting against an autocrat or a dictator for their rights -- their right to be educated, their right to be -- and that dictator, that autocrat is looking at them and saying, "You want to point to the United States? Well, look at what they're doing. You be quiet."

This fight for our freedoms is also a fight for our democracy. And the outcome of this will impact not only the person you're sitting next to but very likely will impact people around the world. And therein lies your power -- therein lies your power to potentially have an impact on people you may never meet, people who may never know your name but, because you chose to lead, will be benefited by your actions.

And so, I will leave you with that, which is: Know your power and use it. And thank you all. Thank you."

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