“The pain is palpable,” he said as he described his meetings with the community before meeting with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in the Oval Office.
“No one left … until I talked to everyone in this room. Every single person. They waited until the very end, “Biden added.
The president said he and Ardern would talk about violence and online extremism during their meeting. New Zealand has voted on a bipartisan basis to change its gun laws following a live mass shooting in Christchurch in 2019, and Ardern is at the forefront of efforts to combat online extremism.
“I want to work with you on this effort and I want to talk to you about what these conversations were like, if you wish,” he told her.
“Our experience, of course, in this regard is our own. But if there is something we can share with some value, we are here to share it,” she said later.
Biden said he would meet with members of Congress on the possibility of arms reform as members begin to meet to find a possible legislative response to the Uwalde tragedy. The president acknowledged that there was little he could do without the support of Republicans in Congress to stop the mass shootings, which are happening with alarming frequency in the United States.
“Much of this is preventable and the damage is incredible,” Biden said on Tuesday.
A small, bipartisan group of senators is meeting virtually Tuesday to explore potential common ground on gun reform. Lawmakers are under strong pressure to take action after the horrific shooting, but there has been a stalemate in Washington for years in Washington, and Democrats’ efforts to reform gun laws have been repeatedly blocked by Republicans and some moderate members of their own party.
Some of the measures Democrats have called for include expanded past bills and red flag laws that could allow law enforcement or family members to petition for a court order for the temporary seizure of a gun. considers that he is at significant risk of injuring himself or others with a firearm. Biden also called on Congress to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
The president and first lady paid their respects to an impromptu memorial in front of Rob Elementary School on Sunday. They also met with local officials, paramedics, mental health providers, firefighters and law enforcement officials. The Biden family also attended a liturgy at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, where Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siler invited children from the devastated community to sit in front.
The Department of Justice said it was reviewing the law enforcement failure of the shooting, which Texas officials described as mixed with wrong decisions.
Morgan Reamer and Claire Foran of CNN contributed to this report.
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