Jill Biden: Itʼs up to Congress to actʼ on gun safety laws
WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Jill Biden, a longtime teacher, said Friday she’s often wondered if her own students would be the next “heartbreaking headline” as she urged parents and teachers to speak up and demand that Congress pass tougher gun safety measures.
“There are no excuses. It’s up to Congress to act,” Biden said in a speech to the National PTA Convention meeting in a Maryland suburb of Washington. “And they represent the will of the people and that’s why we need the people to speak up. Parents and teachers, all of us.”
“We need to fight, now, for the lives of our children and for the safety of our schools,” she said.
The first lady, who has taught for nearly 40 years and teaches English and writing at Northern Virginia Community College, said she often imagines the terrifying scene of a school shooter playing out in her own classroom.
She said she explains to her students on the first day of class how they can escape “if the worst happens” and acknowledged that “I’ve wondered over the years if my students would be the next heartbreaking headline.”
She added: “So Congress did not act after Columbine, after Sandy Hook, after Parkland,” referencing some of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. “Nothing changed, and nothing will change unless we change it.”
The first lady echoed top advisers to her husband, who say President Joe Biden has milked his executive authority to address gun violence and that next steps are up to Congress.
President Biden has called for a range of gun safety measures, including reinstating a long-expired ban on the type of assault-style weapons that were used in the New York and Texas shootings.