President Joe Biden hugged the victims of the mass shooting on Tuesday, hours after signing an executive order to step up background checks on gun buyers.
The president arrived in Monterey Park, a suburb of Los Angeles with a large Asian American community, where another mass shooting took place on January 21 in which 11 people were killed. Biden offered his condolences to the victims and the families of the victims, reminding the audience of an executive order he signed today that strengthens background checks on gun buyers and strengthens federal support for gun laws. States’ risk indicators that aim to stop the sale of firearms to people who could potentially use them to harm others.
“I am here on behalf of the American people to mourn with you, to pray with you, so that you know you are loved and not alone,” Biden told residents of Monterey Park, a city of 60,000. According to the census, 65% of the city’s inhabitants are Asian.
After his speech, Biden met privately with the victims’ families and first responders, the White House said.
As a result of the New Year’s shooting, celebrated according to the lunar calendar, 11 people were killed and nine injured. Biden’s executive order also called on the federal government to respond to mass shootings in the same way as a natural disaster, asking Washington to provide trauma counseling and financial assistance to residents of affected cities.
The executive order aims to expand background checks aimed at preventing criminals or perpetrators of domestic violence from purchasing firearms. This will be done primarily by contacting federally licensed gun companies or by informing others who may not realize that they are required to do background checks under applicable law. , the White House said.
With more than 40,000 Americans killed by guns each year, Biden is betting that voters in the 2024 presidential election will favor tighter gun controls. Republicans eager to nominate their own nominee to challenge Democrat Biden in 2024 are sure to support broader gun rights being lobbied by powerful groups like the National Rifle Association.
The Biden administration cites a poll showing a majority of Americans support background checks.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll last year found that 84% of respondents supported background checks on all gun buyers, and 70% favored risk indicator laws. This poll was taken just after a gunman opened fire on a school in Uwald, Texas, killing 19 students and two teachers.
Last year, the president signed into law a bipartisan law to improve community safety. Republicans have since taken control of the House of Representatives, ruling out new gun laws for at least the next two years.
Even so, Biden called on Congress to act, lamenting that the 1994 ban on assault weapons was lifted 10 years later.
“Let’s do this job,” the president told lawmakers. – Prohibit assault weapons. Ban it again. Do it now. Enough. Do something, do something meaningful.”
