President Biden renewed pressure on Congress to pass a ban on assault weapons after a Nashville woman with two semi-automatic rifles killed six at an elementary school.
Biden opened his remarks at the Small Business Association’s Women’s Summit, joking about how his sister Valerie is smarter than him and talking about his love of chocolate chip ice cream before taking a more serious tone to address the mass shooting.
“I came down because I heard there was chocolate chip ice cream. Besides, I’ve got a whole fridge full upstairs,” Biden opened up.
“You know, it’s kind of boring when you’ve been in public life as long as I have and you’re known for two things: chocolate chip ice cream and Ray-Ban sunglasses, but who cares.”
“You know, Ben and I have been doing this our whole careers, it seems, and it’s just sick,” Biden said at the time, referring to Small Business Committee chairman Senator Ben Cardin, D-Md., who was in the audience sat.
“It’s heartbreaking, a family’s worst nightmare,” Biden continued.
“It is tearing our communities apart, it is tearing the soul that has torn this nation from the soul of the nation. And we need to do more to protect our schools so they don’t become prisons.’
He noted that the 28-year-old gunman reportedly carried two assault weapons and a handgun.
“You know, Ben and I have been doing this our whole careers, it seems, and it’s just sick,” Biden said, referring to Small Business Committee chairman Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md.
A group prays with a child outside the reunification center at Woodmont Baptist Church after the school shooting
A father walks hand in hand with his children after they survive a school shooting
“So I call on Congress once again to pass my assault weapons ban. It’s time we made some more progress, but there’s still more to learn.”
Biden then referred to his son Beau, who died of brain cancer in 2015, noting that now educators and students — like military personnel — must suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
“These kids, these teachers, we also need to pay attention to their mental health.”
The White House said “enough is enough” after the latest mass shooting at a US school – this time at an elementary school outside of Nashville.
“What we are seeing in schools and communities across this country is unacceptable,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
“What we have seen today is devastating, heartbreaking for every American,” she added, noting that President Joe Biden will address the shooting during pre-scheduled remarks later Monday afternoon.
She called the news “devastating” and “heartbreaking for every American,” but gave no concrete information about any new executive orders President Biden may be planning. She repeatedly referred to stalled legislative proposals in Congress.
Her official response was supported by comments from First Lady Jill Biden, speaking at a conference in Washington on Monday. Biden is “without words” as she became the first person in the White House to publicly respond to news of a Nashville school shooting that killed three children.
The first lady spoke as new details emerged about the latest mass shooting that killed young children at school, prompting the White House to say on Monday that “enough is enough.”
“I am really without words, and our children deserve better. We stand with Nashville in prayer,” Biden said during a speech at the National League of Cities conference.
Six people – including three children – have been killed after the 28-year-old female gunman opened fire at a Nashville private school.
First Lady Jill Biden said she is “without words” as she became the first person in the White House to publicly respond to news of a Nashville school shooting that killed three children
The incident took place at the Covenant School, a primary school on the outskirts of the city.
At the White House, Jean-Pierre talked about the tragic shooting at the top of her daily press briefing and answered countless questions about it, amid a years-long stalemate in Congress and the expiration of an assault weapons ban that had been in place but had expired. .
She pointed to executive actions taken by President Joe Biden after two previous mass shootings, but used stark language to call on Congress to do more law-making.
‘It is not enough. We need to do more,” she said. She said Biden “wants Congress to act because enough is enough.”
“How many more children have to be killed before Republicans in Congress pass assault weapons bans, close loopholes… or demand the safe storage of guns?” said Jean Pierre.
Children hold hands as they exit The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday after a female gunman opened fire, killing three children and three staff members
Terrified children peer out the windows of their school bus as they wait to be driven away from the school after the school shooting
Students are evacuated Monday from The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, after a female gunman killed three children and two adults
Biden helped lead the effort to ban semi-automatic assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in 1994, but that legislation expired in 2004.
She said Biden was briefed on the “heartbreaking” news of the shooting. She expressed “the president’s appreciation for the emergency workers and prayers for all the families affected by the shooting.”
“Too often our schools and communities are destroyed” by gun violence, she said.
“Schools should be safe spaces for our children to grow and learn and for our educators to teach,” she said.
She referred to four elements of the legislation: background checks for all gun sales (dealing with the so-called gun show loophole; background checks on all sales; legislation on high-capacity magazines; and eliminating liability from gun manufacturers.
A father carries his son from The Covenant School in Nashville after a gunman killed three students and two staff before being shot dead
“Those are things they can do,” she said of Congress.
Earlier this month, Biden signed an executive order to expand background checks by closing a loophole that prevented some gun sellers from conducting background checks before making a sale.
Police say the gunman – who has not yet been named – killed three children and three adults before being shot dead by police. Her identity has not yet been confirmed.
Shortly before 10:13 a.m., the gunman entered the school through a side door and began firing on the second floor.
The police arrived on the scene and heard the gunshots from the 2nd floor. At 10:27 a.m., she was shot dead. She was armed with two assault rifles and a pistol.