President Joe Biden on Monday renewed his call for an assault weapons ban as a protester interrupted his event celebrating the passage of the new bipartisan gun law.
The law, meant to reduce gun violence, was overshadowed by the July 4th shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, where seven people died and 46 were wounded.
And Biden’s event was overshadowed by Manuel Oliver, whose son Joaquin was killed in the Parkland mass shooting. Oliver, who in February climbed a 150-foot construction tower next to the White House to push for stronger guns legislation, asked Biden to do more.
Oliver stood up during the president’s remarks to heckle him as Biden was bragging about passing the most consequential guns legislation in nearly three decades.
‘Sit down – you’ll hear what I have to say,’ Biden told Oliver. ‘Let me finish my comments.’
As White House staff stepped in to talk to Oliver, Biden then said ‘Let him talk; let him talk.’ But staff escorted Oliver out of the event.
The president fomally signed the gun bill into law on June 25 with first lady Jill Biden at his side.
But he celebrated its passage on Monday with 80 lawmakers who voted for it – including Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas – and almost 1,000 other people on the South Lawn, including survivors and family members of victims of mass shootings from Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Tucson, Sandy Hook, Parkland, Santa Fe, Uvalde, Buffalo and Highland Park.
It was the first major federal gun safety bill in three decades.
During his remarks, Biden renewed his call for assault weapons to be banned.
‘Assault weapons need to be banned,’ he said. ‘I’m determined to ban these weapons again.’
Biden was a leader in the passage of the assualt weapons ban when he was in the Senate. It expired in 2004.
‘I know public policy can seem remote, technical, and distant from our everyday lives. But because of your work, your advocacy, your courage, lives will be saved today and tomorrow because of this,’ he said.
President Joe Biden on Monday renewed his call for an assault weapons ban
Manuel Oliver, whose son Joaquin was killed in the Parkland mass shooting, interrupts President Joe Biden as he delivers remarks to celebrate passage of gun law
President Joe Biden signed the bill into law on June 25 with first lady Jill Biden by his side
The law, meant to reduce gun violence, was overshadowed by the July 4th shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, where seven people died and 46 were wounded – above belongings are shown left behind at the scene of the Highland Park mass shooting
Ahead of th event, Biden took to the White House social media accounts to ask Americans to share their stories of gun violence.
‘I received over 2,500 responses in 24 hours,’ he said.
In his speech, Biden called for additional legislation that would bring about safe storage laws requiring personal liability for not locking up a gun and more background checks.
‘I have four shotguns, two are mine and two are my deceased son’s. They’re locked up,’ Biden said.
‘Guns are the number one killer of children in the United States, more than car accidents, more than cancer,’ the president said, his voice growing louder as he called for more to be done.
The law, which received bipartisan support in the House and Senate, toughens background checks for younger gun buyers, bolsters background check requirements and beefs up penalties for gun traffickers.
It also prohibits romantic partners convicted of domestic abuse who are not married to their victims from getting firearms – closing the so-called ‘boyfriend loophole.’
Convicted abusers who are married to, live with or had children with their victims are already barred from having guns.
Additionally, $750million will be provided to the 19 states that have ‘red flag’ laws making it easier to temporarily take firearms from people adjudged dangerous, and to other states with violence prevention programs.
States with ‘red flag’ laws that receive the funds would have to have legal processes for the gun owner to fight the firearm’s removal.
It will disburse money to states and communities to improve school safety and mental health initiatives.
Guests at the event held photos of loved ones who were victims of gun violence
Fred Guttenber, whose daughter Jamie was killed in the Majory Stoneman Douglass High school shooting, hugs Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who helped pass the bipartisan gun legislation that Biden signed into law
Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the event celebrating the gun law
But one thing the law doesn’t do is ban assault weapons, which Biden has pushed for in the past.
Biden, when he signed the bill into law, conceded the legislation doesn’t have everything he wanted but ‘it does include actions I’ve long called for that are going to save lives.’
The president has said, however, there is more work to be done.
‘I recently signed the first major bipartisan gun reform legislation in almost 30 years into law, which includes actions that will save lives,’ Biden said after July 4th shooting. ‘But there is much more work to do, and I´m not going to give up fighting the epidemic of gun violence.’
The new law came together in the wake of a spat of mass shootings including one at a grocery store in Buffalo where 10 black people were killed and one at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, where 17 children and two teachers died.
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