Comment on this story
Comment
Nearly 4 1/2 years after losing his 17-year-old son to a high school shooter in Parkland, Florida, Manuel Oliver didn’t think it was time to celebrate.
Oliver was among hundreds who joined President Biden and lawmakers from both parties on the South Lawn of the White House on Monday for an event billed as “celebrating the historic achievement of passing the bipartisan Safer Communities Act.” Among those invited were family members and survivors of mass shootings from Columbine, Colorado, to Virginia Tech to Buffalo and Highland Park, Illinois.
Oliver, angry that children are still dying — including 19 at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, less than two months ago — decided to make his feelings known and stood up as Biden spoke.
He then berated the president.
“Despite the naysayers, we can make significant progress on gun violence,” Biden said, as Oliver, wearing a photo of his son and a message demanding change, stepped in to call for the creation of an executive branch office focused solely on on gun violence.
“Sit down — you’re going to hear what I have to say,” Biden told Oliver before pausing. “We have one — let me finish my comment.” But when Secret Service agents approached Oliver, Biden said, “Let him talk. Let him speak.
He then continued: “Make no mistake – this legislation is real progress. But more needs to be done.”
The report said the Uvalde officer had a shooter in his sights
The episode underscored the tensions that have run through Biden’s presidency and have intensified in recent weeks. Many Democrats have called on the president to do more to take credit for his accomplishments, including strengthening the economy, making progress against the pandemic and getting bills through a polarized Congress. At the same time, Biden’s advisers are careful not to appear insensitive to voters’ concerns and suffering.
After the Uvalde shooting, Congress passed a bipartisan bill that was the biggest gun control measure in decades — but it also fell short of what advocates wanted. He expanded background checks, funded programs to confiscate guns from troubled individuals and strengthened mental health services.
Biden touted it Monday, saying, “The provision of this legislation will save lives. And it’s proof that in today’s politics we can come together on a bipartisan basis to get important things done, even on a tough issue like guns.”
Vice President Harris echoed the sentiment. “For 30 years, our nation has failed to pass meaningful legislation against gun violence,” she said, adding, “Because of our president’s leadership and because of so many of you, we passed a law that will make the communities around our nation -safe. “
Oliver said in an interview that he didn’t appreciate the congratulatory tone “because kids are still dying.” He doesn’t regret speaking out, he said after the ceremony. He just wished he could continue talking before he was escorted away.
“I was trying to send a message to President Biden,” Oliver said. “I had the opportunity to be there today. But I will not be part of the celebration.
In February 2018, a gunman opened fire on students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, killing 17 people, including Oliver’s son, Joaquin. The mass killing sparked a renewed surge of activism as students at the school demanded stricter gun control measures, though it likely didn’t yield significant results until last month.
Other family members had a mixed reaction to Monday’s event. Fred Guttenberg, who lost his daughter Jamie in the Parkland shooting, said on Twitter that he had embraced Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), a longtime opponent of gun restrictions who has teamed up with Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn. ) to come up with the compromise that eventually passed.
“I have always promised that I would publicly embrace anyone on the right side of this legislation,” Gutenberg tweeted. “Proud to say I just gave @JohnCornyn a big hug.”
Other survivors and activists praised Oliver for sharing their thoughts. He wasn’t the only upset participant, said Brandon Wolf, who was in the bathroom of Pulse nightclub in 2016 when a gunman walked into the Orlando gay bar, killing 49 people, including two of Wolf’s friends.
“I’m angry too,” he said. “I’m sad, I’m disappointed, because while we’re standing here talking, people keep dying.” Referring to Oliver, he added: “If you’re not that angry, you’re not doing enough yet.”
Igor Volsky, executive director of Guns Down America, which has also called for a gun violence prevention office, said Oliver said “what every person at this event personally believed.” Wolsky cited a poll showing that most Americans would like Congress to pass a new round of legislation to address gun violence.
“Our hearts go out to Manuel Oliver, who has suffered a deep, deep loss,” White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre said at a briefing later Monday, adding that the president had met with Oliver this year. “We agree with him. We need to do more.”
Oliver’s call for an office on gun violence is not new. Eighty-five groups that advocate for gun control and violence prevention called for such an office to be created before Biden became president.
Still, many gun control advocates and lawmakers say the administration has made significant strides with the bipartisan bill Biden signed last month. The legislation, designed to prevent dangerous people from accessing guns and invest $15 billion in mental health and school security, is the first major federal gun measure in three decades.
Two people from Buffalo and Uvalde spoke at Monday’s event, praising the administration for what they said was progress in combating the gun violence that has torn their communities apart.
Garnell Whitfield Jr., son of Ruth Whitfield, 86, who died in a shooting at a Buffalo grocery store in May, recited the names of the 10 victims of that massacre, “all of whom went to the only supermarket in their community on May 14, to get groceries, believing they were safe – but they weren’t.”
The store was in a black neighborhood and the alleged killer had declared himself a supporter of white supremacy.
“My family, our families and our community are devastated, but their intent to divide us and preach further violence in our community has failed completely,” Whitfield said. “Because instead we chose to love over hate, to speak out instead of silence, and to stand with those brave enough to lead us into signing the most impactful gun legislation in over 30 years.”
Harris and other mourners in Buffalo are calling for action against gun violence
Biden stressed that he intends to continue pushing for broader gun control measures and renewed his call on Monday for a federal ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.
“We live in a country awash in weapons of war,” Biden said. “Assault weapons should be banned.”
Roy Guerrero, a pediatrician in Uvalde who treated several of that city’s young shooting victims, echoed the call for a ban on assault weapons. Forty days after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School, Guerrero said the makeshift memorials had been cleared and that all that remained was “an empty feeling in our guts.”
“I use this pain to speak to you today as a Uvaldian and to speak on behalf of the parents and victims who are seeking truth, transparency and, ultimately, accountability,” Guerrero said. “Let this be the beginning of the movement to ban combat weapons.”
Add Comment