President Joe Biden asked for the nation to pray for the families of those killed at a Uvalde elementary school – but also to ask themselves: “When in God’s name, are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?”
“We have to act,” he said. “And don’t tell me we can’t have an impact on this carnage.”
He spoke hours after the deadliest school shooting in Texas. An 18-year-old gunman opened fire Tuesday at Robb Elementary, about 85 miles outside of San Antonio. He killed at least 18 children and three adults, officials said. The gunman is also dead.
The shooting came days before the National Rifle Association annual convention was set to begin in Houston. Gov. Greg Abbott as well as senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz were among elected Republican officials scheduled to speak at a Friday leadership forum sponsored by the NRA’s lobbying arm.
Biden did not offer many specifics on policy but furiously questioned why someone needs to buy an assault weapon except to kill someone.
“The idea that an 18-year-old kid can walk into a gun store and buy two assault weapons – it’s just wrong,” he said.
The frustrated president lamented how long it’s been since he faced the families of the children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary and how many shooters have terrorized students in the years since.
Tuesday’s attack was the deadliest shooting at an American grade school since a gunman killed 20 children and six adults in Newtown, Conn., almost a decade ago.
During his flight back from Asia upon hearing of the Texas tragedy, Biden said he thought of how these kinds of mass shootings don’t happen as often in other countries.
“Why are we willing to live with this carnage?” he said. “Why do we keep letting this happen? Where in God’s name is our backbone, the courage to deal with and stand up to the lobbies? Time to turn this pain into action.”
Americans want common sense gun laws, the president said.
“I am sick and tired of it,” Biden said. “We have to act. Don’t tell me we can’t have an impact on this carnage.”
In the years since Sandy Hook, the gun control debate in Congress has waxed and waned. Efforts by lawmakers to change U.S. gun policies in any significant way have consistently faced roadblocks from Republicans and the influence of outside groups such as the NRA.
A year after Sandy Hook, Sens. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, and Patrick J. Toomey, a Pennsylvania Republican, negotiated a bipartisan proposal to expand the nation’s background check system. But as the measure was close to being brought to the Senate floor for a vote, it became clear it would not get enough votes to clear a 60-vote filibuster hurdle.
Then-President Barack Obama, who had made gun control central to his administration’s goals after the Newtown shooting, called Congress’ failure to act “a pretty shameful day for Washington.”
Last year, the House passed two bills to expand background checks on firearms purchases. One bill would have closed a loophole for private and online sales. The other would have extended the background check review period. Both languished in the 50-50 Senate, where Democrats need at least 10 Republican votes to overcome objections from a filibuster.
An emotional Biden, who has buried two children, asked for the Lord to watch over the brokenhearted families in Texas.
“To lose a child,” he said, “is like having a piece of new soul ripped away.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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