Celebration of gun law clouded by shooting
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden welcomed a crowd to the White House lawn Monday to showcase a new law meant to reduce gun violence, celebrating “real progress” after years of inaction. But he also lamented the country remains “awash in weapons of war” — with the 16-day-old law already overshadowed by yet another horrific mass shooting.
The bill, passed after recent gun rampages in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, incrementally toughens requirements for young people buying guns, denies firearms to more domestic abusers and helps local authorities temporarily take weapons from people judged to be dangerous.
But the “celebration” Monday morning came a week after a gunman in Highland Park, Ill., killed seven people at an Independence Day parade, a stark reminder of the limitations of the new law in addressing the American phenomenon of mass gun violence.
Biden hosted hundreds of guests on the South Lawn, including a bipartisan group of lawmakers who crafted and supported the legislation, state and local officials — including Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering — and the families of victims of both mass shootings and everyday gun violence.
“Because of your work, your advocacy, your courage, lives will be saved today and tomorrow because of this,“Biden said.
“We will not save every life from the epidemic of gun violence,“he added, “But if this law had been in place years ago, even this last year, lives would have been saved.”
Still, Biden said, “we’re living in a country awash in weapons of war.” He repeated his call on Congress to pass a federal ban on assault weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines — or at minimum to require more stringent background checks and training before purchases.
He also said Congress should pass legislation to hold gun owners legally accountable if their weapons are improperly stored and are used to commit violence. He noted that he owns four shotguns and keeps them secured at his home.
Biden Saturday invited Americans to share with him via text their stories of how they’ve been affected by gun violence, tweeting that “I’m hosting a celebration of the passage of the Safer Communities Act.“He told some of their stories on Monday.
The new law is the the most impactful firearmsviolence measure Congress has approved since enacting a now-expired assault weapons ban in 1993. Yet gun control advocates — and even White House officials — say it’s premature to declare victory.
During his remarks Monday, Biden was heckled by Manuel Oliver, whose son Joaquin was killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. Biden briefly paused his speech and asked Oliver, who was shouting, to sit down, before adding “Let him talk, let him talk,” as he was escorted out of the event.