President Joe Biden celebrated the signing of a gun safety bill passed in the wake of recent mass shootings.
But while lawmakers, gun reform advocates and victims’ families at the South Law ceremony said the new legislation would make sense, it falls short of laws that have been in place in the past, such as banning assault weapons or even ban on purchases of these firearms by persons under the age of 21.
Manuel Oliver interrupted President Joe Biden’s speech at the White House. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The activism and urgency for much more meaningful action was evident when Biden’s speech was interrupted by Manuel Oliver, whose son Joaquin was killed in the Parkland, Florida shooting in 2018. Oliver could be heard yelling, “I’m trying to get you I’ve been saying that for years,” and Biden then said, “Let him talk. Let him speak. Oliver, who founded the group Change the Ref and is calling for much bigger measures, was then escorted away.
In his speech, Biden called for a ban on assault weapons and universal background checks. But those measures are out of reach in Congress because of Republican opposition. Biden signed the bipartisan Safer Communities Act last month. The law, the result of negotiations after the massacres in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, expands background checks for those 18 to 21 years old, gives states incentives to pass “red flag” laws and expands the federal law that outlaws domestic abusers from acquiring weapons. The legislation also provides funds for school safety and mental health.
Biden’s speech was just interrupted by a protester pic.twitter.com/dnYwl29qnI
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 11, 2022
The White House ceremony took place nearly a week before a gunman opened fire during a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, killing seven people. Biden noted the presence of Highland Park’s mayor and state governor JB Pritzker.
“Could this really be the United States of America? How did it get here?” Biden said in his speech. “We all know some of the reasons — the gun lobby, the special interest money, the rise of hyper-partisan tribal politics in the country.”
Biden said he supports the Second Amendment and owns four guns, but that the right to bear arms is not absolute.
“The right to bear arms is not a right that dominates all others,” he said.
Although he attended the event, Oliver was critical of the White House’s characterization of the ceremony as a celebration. It drew hundreds of guests to the South Lawn, and at the end of the president’s speech, the Marine Corps Band played Stars and Stripes Forever. But the presentation itself was still shorter and a little more subdued than previous ceremonies marking important moments for the administration, including the passage of the infrastructure bill last year and the confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.
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