Biden urges gun control efforts on Parkland shooting anniversary

President Biden said Monday that Congress must act to help Americans “keep each other safe” on the fourth anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., which killed 14 students and three staff members.

“On this difficult day, we mourn with the Parkland families whose lives were upended in an instant; who had to bury a piece of their soul deep in the earth,” the president said in a statement. “We pray too for those still grappling with wounds both visible and invisible. And, as we remember those lost in Parkland, we also stand with Americans in every corner of our country who have lost loved ones to gun violence or had their lives forever altered by a shooting, in tragedies that made headlines and in ones that did not .

“Out of the heartbreak of Parkland a new generation of Americans all across the country marched for our lives and towards a better, safer America for us all,” Biden continued. “Together, this extraordinary movement is making sure that the voices of victims and survivors and responsible gun owners are louder than the voices of gun manufacturers and the National Rifle Association.”

Students hold their hands in the air as they are evacuated by police from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla, after a shooter opened fire on the campus, Feb. 14, 2018.
Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, File
A family reunites outside of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., after a shooting on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018.
© John McCall/TNS via ZUMA Wire

Gunman Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty in October to 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in connection with the massacre.

“I am very sorry for what I did and I have to live with it every day,” said Cruz, now 23.

“If I were to get a second chance, I would do everything in my power to try to help others. And I am doing this for you, and I don’t care if you do not believe me.”

Sgt.  Matthew Elseth with "ghost guns" on display at the headquarters of the San Francisco Police Department in San Francisco.
There is no prospect of gun control legislation passing Congress anytime soon.
AP Photo/Haven Daley,File
"Ghost guns" are displayed at the headquarters of the San Francisco Police Department in San Francisco, on Nov.  27, 2019.
Gun control has been forced to the back burner during Biden’s first year in office.
AP Photo/Haven Daley, File

In Monday’s statement, Biden repeated many of the notes he sounded on a visit to New York earlier this month — touting a plan to curb the proliferation of so-called “ghost” guns, cracking down on gun dealers who break the law, and pushing safe firearm storage.

“The Department of Justice is also helping more cities adopt smart law enforcement models like the one I recently saw in New York City, in which federal, state, and local law enforcement work together to share intelligence and remove shooters from our streets,” he said.

“And Congress must do much more — beginning with requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers,” Biden insisted near the end of his statement.

Law enforcement officers block off the entrance to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Feb.  15, 2018 in Parkland, Fla., following a deadly shooting at the school
President Biden made the statement on the fourth anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File
Victoria Rosa paints a poster in honor of the Parkland shooting victims in the makeshift memorial in front of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, USA, 11 February 2021.
The shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School killed 17 people, including 14 students and three staff members.
EPA/CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH

“We can never bring back those we’ve lost. But we can come together to fulfill the first responsibility of our government and our democracy: to keep each other safe,” the president added. “For Parkland, for all those we’ve lost, and for all those left behind, it is time to uphold that solemn obligation.”

There is no prospect of gun control legislation passing Congress anytime soon, and the issue has been forced to the back burner during Biden’s first year in office by the COVID-19 pandemic, rising inflation and foreign policy challenges such as the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

In June, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) unveiled a “zero tolerance” policy for “rogue” gun dealers accused of violating federal laws while the Justice Department announced new “strike forces” to slow the flow of guns into New York and four other major cities.

Assistant Public Defender Melisa McNeill speaks with her client, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz, during a hearing at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.  on Tuesday, Feb.  2, 2022
Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty in October to 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted murder.
Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz is shown at the defense table during a hearing at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.  on Tuesday, Feb.  2, 2022.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz is shown at the defense table during a hearing at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2022.
Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool

However, Biden was forced to withdraw David Chipman as his pick to head the ATF in September after Republicans and moderate Democrats in the Senate objected to his stance on gun control and raised concerns about allegations of racism.

In November, the Justice Department announced $139 million in COPS Hiring Program grants to help local forces hire 1,066 additional full-time police

Despite the White House efforts, crime continues to surge in large cities like New York, which saw a nearly 60 percent hike earlier this month compared to the same period last year.

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