President Joe Biden speaks as he meets with the Senators of both parties in the White House on February 11, 2021.
Doug Mills-Pool / Getty Images
President Joe Biden on Sunday called on Congress to strengthen gun laws on the third anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
“Today, as we mourn with the Parkland community, we mourn all those who have lost loved ones to violence,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House.
The president called for various provisions, including background checks on all gun sales, the assault on high-capacity weapons and magazines and the legal immunity for gun manufacturers.
“This administration will not wait for the next mass shooting to respond to that call. We will take action to end our epidemic of gun violence and make our schools and communities safer,” Biden said. “We owe it to all who have lost us and to all who are left behind to grieve to make a change.”
Fourteen students and three staff members were killed in the Parkland shooting. The student survivors started the March for Our lives movement in support of gun legislation.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said in a statement Sunday that Congress will work with the Biden government to pass two bills in the background. During the last congress, the House passed the Dual Background Checks Act and the Enhanced Background Checks Act.
“With this solemn remembrance, Democrats are joining the American people in renewing our commitment to our unfinished work to ensure that no family or community is forced to endure the pain of gun violence,” Pelosi said. “We will not rest until all Americans, in schools, in the workplace, in places of worship and in our communities, are safe once and for all.”
Susan Rice, head of the White House Home Policy Council, and Cedric Richmond, a senior advisor to Biden, hosted a virtual meeting last week with leaders of advocacy groups to prevent gun violence to discuss how gun violence can be reduced word.