President Joe Biden calls on the nation to uphold the “solemn obligation” to “keep each other safe” while working to end gun violence, just four years after 17 people were shot and killed at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
In a statement obtained by The Associated Press ahead of Monday’s anniversary of the deadly shooting, Joe Biden said that “Out of the heartbreak of Parkland, a new generation of Americans all across the country marched for our lives and towards a better, safer America for us all.”
He continued, “Together, this extraordinary movement is making sure that the voices of victims and survivors and responsible gun owners are louder than the voices of gun manufacturers and the National Rifle Association.”
As a result of the Parkland shooting, gun violence at schools continues to rise.
A recent tally by Everytown for Gun Safety showed that there are at least 136 instances of gunfire on school grounds since the Parkland shooting between Aug. 1 and Dec. 31.
Since then, Biden has taken steps to combat “ghost guns,” or handmade firearms that lack serial numbers and are frequently purchased without a background check. He has also fought to strengthen rules on pistol-stabilizing braces and urging cities to put their COVID-19 relief funds to good use in combating gun violence.
Despite these efforts, Biden has yet to pass legislation that would tighten gun laws. He has also been forced to withdraw the nominee for head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Presidents have limitations in how much they can do when Congress is unwilling to pass gun legislation.
Biden said he had asked Congress for funding to reduce violent crime and that laws must be passed banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and eliminating immunity for the manufacturers of firearms.
“We can never bring back those we’ve lost,” Biden said. “But we can come together to fulfill the first responsibility of our government and our democracy: to keep each other safe. For Parkland, for all those we’ve lost, and for all those left behind, it is time to uphold that solemn obligation.”
According to a study, from 2006 to 2018, the National Threat Assessment Center of the United States Secret Service investigated school assaults across the country and found that the majority of attackers were bullied and that warning indicators were there.
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