After three consecutive shootings this week, President Joe Biden sentenced against gun violence in the USA and again called for stricter gun laws.
Two people were killed and 28 injured – including many children – in a shooting at a neighborhood block party in Baltimore on Sunday night. Five people were killed and two injured in a mass shooting in Philadelphia on Monday night. That same evening, another mass shooting occurred at a festival in Fort Worth, Texas, killing three people and injuring eight others. The tragedies add to the growing list of mass shootings ravaging the country.
“Today, Jill and I mourn those who lost their lives, and as our nation celebrates Independence Day, we pray for the day when our communities will be free from gun violence,” Biden said in the release opinion on Tuesday.
On the anniversary of the July 4, 2022 massacre in Highland Park, Illinois, in which seven people died and more than 30 were injured, the President also recognized the state’s recent efforts to combat gun violence.
Since the tragedy, Illinois has passed a law banning assault weapons — including the one used in the Highland Park shooting — and high-capacity magazines in the state, which is a major asset to gun safety.
“Your performance will save lives. But it won’t erase her grief. It will not bring back the seven Americans killed in Highland Park, nor heal the injuries and trauma that numerous others will continue to bear,” Biden said in the statement. “And as we have seen over the past few days, much more needs to be done in Illinois and across America to combat the epidemic of gun violence that is tearing our communities apart.”
Last year, Biden signed the most significant anti-gun violence legislation in three decades. The landmark Bipartisan Safer Communities Act outlined ways to reduce gun violence in the US, including expanding mental health services and school security, restrictions on gun purchases, and increased background checks for those under 21.
Several Democrats have been ardent supporters of reforms to combat gun violence, including bans on assault weapons. But many GOP leaders have defied gun regulations, despite the continued rise in gun violence. There were Over 340 mass shootings in the US so far in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Still, Biden and other lawmakers are insisting on stronger gun reform legislation.
“It is within our power to re-ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, require safe storage of guns, lift gun manufacturers’ liability immunities, and institute universal background checks,” Biden said in the statement.
He continued, “I call on other states to follow Illinois’ lead, and I continue to call on Republican lawmakers in Congress to agree on meaningful, common-sense reforms that the American people will support.”