United States President Joe Biden cited a "societal guilt" on Wednesday as Connecticut senators are calling for stricter gun laws on the 10-year anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting incident.
The Democratic leader noted that the country had a slow pace of action on restricting access to firearms despite the plethora of high-profile gun-related violence in recent years. During the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, 22 students and six educators lost their lives.
Anniversary of the Sandy Hook Shooting
Biden used the 10-year anniversary of the horrific shooting to renew his calls for a ban on assault-style weapons similar to the one used by the shooter in the Sandy Hook incident, as well as high-capacity magazines.
In a statement, the president said that the people of the United States have a moral obligation to pass and enforce laws that seek to prevent such violence from happening in the future. Biden said that they owe it to the courageous young survivors and to the families of the victims to turn that pain into purpose, as per the Associated Press.
At the time of the Sandy Hook shooting, Biden was the vice president of the United States and was tapped by then-President Barack Obama. He led an ill-fated effort to tighten gun laws across the nation. Biden also said that he and his wife, Jill Biden, prayed for the victims and their families.
This summer, Congress passed the most substantial gun reforms in decades, but only did so after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The measure targeted "ghost guns" that do not have serial numbers and are more difficult to track and restrict.
According to Politico, Mark Barden, who lost his son to the Sandy Hook incident, was, at the time of the incident, comforted by Biden via a phone call. The then-vice president told him to keep a notebook on his bedside table and told him to grab a pen every night and rate his day on a scale of one to 10.
Support for Anti-Gun Legislation
Barden recalled Biden saying; "You're gonna have lots of ones for a long time. But you might get a two, then maybe you'll get a three and then you'll have more ones, and then maybe you'll get a four." The father of the victim had called the now-president a friend with who he has occasionally talked over the years.
Many considered the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting an unparalleled tragedy, with former President Obama calling it the darkest day of his presidency. At the time, Biden held dozens of calls with the families of the victims.
Now, Connecticut senators are also expressing their support for anti-gun measures, with Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy speaking on the Senate floor to call for new legislation. Murphy spoke about the emotions that he felt when he remembers the children and educators who died in the Sandy Hook incident.
The lawmaker is known for championing gun control legislation at the state and federal levels and has called for the memory of the lost lives to be honored with action. Murphy also fought to pass the bipartisan Safer Communities Act in the Senate this summer. He called the potential passing of the act as showing Americans that elected officials were listening, WSHU reported.
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