President Joe Biden renewed his call for Congress to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, as well as enact other gun safety measures as he observed the one-year anniversary of a deadly mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
(Bloomberg) — President Joe Biden renewed his call for Congress to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, as well as enact other gun safety measures as he observed the one-year anniversary of a deadly mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
“We did something afterwards, but not nearly enough,” Biden said at the White House on Wednesday. “It’s time to act. It’s time to make our voices heard. Not as Democrats or Republicans. But as friends, as neighbors, as parents – and as fellow Americans.”
Nineteen children and two adults were killed in the shooting at Robb Elementary School. Officers were on-site for more than an hour before killing the gunman, leading to widespread criticism of local law enforcement.
Biden watched the violence unfold on television as he flew back aboard Air Force One from a trip to Asia, according to White House principal deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton.
Shortly after landing, Biden delivered a primetime address, imploring lawmakers to act. The president and First lady Jill Biden visited Uvalde after the shooting, meeting with the families of those who died and laying flowers outside the school.
“Standing there in Uvalde, Jill and I couldn’t help but think that too many schools, too many every-day places have become killing fields in communities all across every part of America,” Biden said Wednesday, standing in front of a memorial display consisting of 21 white candles, each encased in glass and accompanied by a single white rose, created in remembrance of the victims.
“And in each place, we hear the same message: Do something. For God’s sake, please do something,” he said.
Earlier: Biden Visits Texas Town to Mourn Uvalde School-Shooting Victims
Biden has said the Uvalde shooting and a racist attack on a grocery store in Buffalo, New York — also in May 2022 — were catalysts for Congress passing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the first major federal gun-control legislation in 30 years, which he signed into law the following month.
“I carried their message back to Washington, which finally broke the congressional logjam,” Biden wrote in a USA Today op-ed this month.
The legislation enhanced background checks for gun buyers under 21 and closed the so-called boyfriend loophole that allowed dating partners convicted of domestic abuse to buy guns. It also dispatched funding to states with red flag laws, which allow law enforcement or family members to ask courts to temporarily remove firearms or prevent their purchase by someone deemed a danger. But many of the law’s provisions are still in the process of being fully implemented nationwide.
As of Tuesday, there had been 237 mass shootings so far this year in the US, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Other tougher measures Biden has called for include more stringent background checks on gun purchasers, and requirements to promote safe storage of firearms, which polls show have widespread support among Americans. But efforts at further gun-control legislation are unlikely with Republicans in control of the House.
Read more: Biden Says He Intends to ‘Expose Those’ Blocking New Gun Laws
Biden signed an executive order earlier this year to crack down on gun sellers that are not employing background checks as required by law.
(Everytown for Gun Safety, which advocates gun-safety measures, is backed by Michael Bloomberg, founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP.)
–With assistance from Jennifer Jacobs and Justin Sink.
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