Biden urges unity to stem racial hate
President WASHINGTON —
Joe Biden urged unity Sunday to address the “hate that remains a stain on the soul of America” after a deadly mass shooting at a super- market in Buffalo, New York, while state officials pleaded for federal action to end mass shootings.
Addressing an annual law enforcement ceremony at the U.S. Capitol, Biden said he and his wife, Jill, pray for those who were shot “by a lone gunman, armed with weapons of war and hate- filled soul,” and their families.
Authorities say a white 18-year-old male in mili- tary gear opened fire on shoppers and workers at the supermarket on Saturday, killing 10 people, including a retired Buffalo police officer, and wound- ing three others. Most of the victims were Black.
“We must all work together to address the hate that remains a stain on the soul of America,” Biden said at the 41st annual National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service honoring fallen law enforcement officers. “Our hearts are heavy once again, but the resolve must never, ever waver.”
“No one understands this more than the people sitting in front of me,” he added.
Biden, speaking at the ceremony for the second time as president, did not address the calls by New York officials — Gov. Kathy Hochul and Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown — for strong federal action to end what Brown said is the “uniquely American phenomenon” of mass shootings.
The president also did not mention gun control efforts that have stalled in Washington.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said tighter gun measures are “a huge priority” for Democrats and the White House. She bemoan e d the 60-vote threshold needed in the 50-50 Senate that has made it difficult to advance such legislation, but she pledged on CNN’s “State of the Union” that “we are not going away until the job is done.”