In a somber, emotional address late Tuesday, President Joe Biden blamed the “gun lobby” and those who support the weapon industry for the latest mass shooting at a Uvalde elementary school that cost the lives of 19 children and two teachers.
“As a nation, we have to ask when in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? When in God’s name will we do what we all know in our gut needs to be done?” the visibly upset President wondered.
“It’s been 3,448 days – 10 years- since I stood up at…a grade school in Connecticut where another gunman massacred 26 people including 20 first-graders at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. Since then, there have been over 900 incidents of gunfire reported on school grounds.”
He added: “We can’t and won’t prevent every tragedy, but we know [gun laws] work and have a positive impact. When we passed the Assault Weapons Ban [in 1994], mass shootings went down. When the law expired [in 2004], mass shootings tripled.”
“The idea that an 18-year-old kid can walk into a gun store and buy two assault weapons, it’s just wrong,” Biden said. “What in God’s name do you need an assault weapon for except to kill someone? Deer aren’t running through the forest with Kevlar vests on for God’s sake?”
“Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen? Where in God’s name is our backbone – to have the courage to deal with it and stand up to the lobbies?”
The President concluded: “It’s time to turn this pain into action…it’s time for those who obstruct or delay the common-sense gun laws we need to let you know that we will not forget. We can do so much more. We have to do more.”
