Photo: The Canadian Press
President Joe Biden talks about the latest round of mass shootings from the White House East Room in Washington on Thursday, June 2, 2022. Biden is trying to increase pressure on Congress to approve stricter gun limits after these efforts fail after past outbreaks. . (Photo by AP / Evan Vucci)
“Enough, enough,” President Joe Biden exclaimed again and again Thursday night as he delivered a passionate speech to the nation calling on Congress to take action against armed violence following the mass shootings he said had turned schools , supermarkets and other everyday places in “murders”. fields “.
If lawmakers do not act, he warned, voters should use their “outrage” to make it a central issue in the November midterm elections.
In statements to the White House, Biden acknowledged strong political winds against him as he sought to increase pressure on Congress to pass stricter gun limits after those efforts failed after previous attacks.
He reiterated calls for a ban on the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and said that if Congress does not accept all his proposals, it should at least find compromises such as maintaining firearms. ‘those with mental health problems or raising the age to buy assault weapons from 18 to 21 years.
“How many more butchers are we willing to accept,” Biden said after last week’s shootings of an 18-year-old gunman who killed 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and another attack Wednesday in Tulsa. , Oklahoma, where a gunman shot and killed four people and himself in a doctor’s office. “Don’t tell me raising your age won’t make a difference,” he said.
The most recent shooting came after the May 14 assault in Buffalo, New York, where an 18-year-old white man wearing military equipment and broadcasting live with a helmet camera opened fire with a rifle in a supermarket in a predominantly black neighborhood. , killing 10 people and wounding three more in what authorities described as “racially motivated violent extremism.”
“This time we have to take the time to do something,” Biden said, calling on the Senate, where 10 Republican votes would be needed to pass the legislation.
For all his passion for Biden’s speech, and for all his big questions and small alternatives, any major congressional action is still a long way off.
“I know how difficult it is, but I will never give up, and if Congress fails, I think this time the majority of the American people will not give up either,” he added. “I think most of you will. Take action to turn your outrage to make this issue the center of your vote.”
Adding a clear perspective on the deaths of young people, he noted that data from the Centers for Disease Control show that “guns are the number one killer of children in the United States of America,” before car accidents.
“Over the past two decades, more school-age children have died as a result of firearms than service police officers and active-duty military combined,” he said.
Aware of persistent criticism from gun rights advocates, Biden insisted that his appeal was not about “disclosing gun ownership” or “taking anyone’s weapons away.”
“We should treat responsible gun owners as an example of how every gun owner should behave,” Biden said. “It’s not about taking away anyone’s rights, it’s about protecting children, it’s about protecting families.”
He called on Congress to end “scandalized” protections for gun manufacturers, which severely limit their responsibility for how their firearms are used, comparing it to the tobacco industry it has faced. repeated litigation over the role of its products in the cause of cancer and other diseases.
“Imagine if the tobacco industry were immune to being sued, where would we be today,” Biden said.
All major broadcast networks were separated from the usual programming to bring Biden’s commentary at 7:30 p.m. EDT, before the show began at prime time.
Biden has delivered major speeches on the coronavirus pandemic and the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. But the president has used these addresses sparingly during his nearly 18 months in office, especially during the afternoon hours.
Earlier on Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke about the Oklahoma shooting and said, “We all have the Tulsa people at heart, but we also reaffirm our commitment to pass common-sense weapons security laws.”
“No more excuses. Thoughts and prayers are important, but not enough,” Harris said. “We need Congress to act.”
Visiting Uvalde on Sunday, Biden wept privately for more than three hours with distressed families. Faced with chants of “do something” when he left a church service, the president promised, “We’ll do it.” In his speech, he spoke of a woman passing a note to him in a church in Uvalde lamenting the loss of his grandson, asking people to come together and act.
His speech on Thursday night coincided with bipartisan talks that are intensifying among a core group of senators discussing modest changes in arms policy. Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said the group is “making rapid progress,” and Biden has spoken with Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, who is leading his party’s efforts on the issue.
Democrats hope Biden’s comments will encourage bipartisan Senate talks and pressure Republicans to reach an agreement. Jean-Pierre said Biden is “encouraged” by the negotiations in Congress, but that the president wants to give “some space” to lawmakers to keep talking.
Private discussions in the Senate, which are split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, are not expected to produce the kind of radical reforms that the Democratic-led House is considering, which has passed extensive legislation on background checks and it will then become a ban on assault weapons.
But even a House package debated on Thursday, and approved by a committee on May 25 and 19, is less comprehensive but includes a provision that raises the age required to buy semi-automatic firearms at 21, he has little chance in the Senate.
Instead, bipartisan senators are likely to present a more incremental package that would increase federal funding to support state arms security efforts, with incentives to strengthen school security and mental health resources. The package may also encourage “red flag laws” to keep firearms away from those that would harm them.
Although the Senate passed a modest measure to encourage compliance with background checks after a mass shooting of the church in 2017 in Texas and one in Parkland, Florida, the following year, no major legislation was passed. pass the chamber after the devastating massacre of 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School. in 2012.