President Biden Visits Monterey Park
President Joe Biden visited Monterey Park Tuesday to honor the victims of the Star Ballroom shooting and meet with families of the deceased. The visit coincided with another executive action addressing gun violence in America.
Biden is asking the U.S. Justice Department to clarify who is "engaged in the business" of selling guns. This is an effort to expand background checks on firearm purchases. Biden’s executive order also seeks to boost red flag laws and promote safer gun storage, while calling for the public release of inspection reports for firearms dealers cited for violations.
"But let's be clear, none of this absorbs Congress the responsibility from -- from the responsibility of acting to pass universal background checks, eliminate gun manufacturers immunity from liability and I am determined once again to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines,” Biden said. “I led that fight in ban them in 1994.”
The President offered consoling words to the families of the Monterey Park shooting victims.
“I’m here on behalf of the American people to mourn with you, to pray with you, to let you know you are loved and not alone. I know what it’s like to get that call.... I know what it’s like to lose a loved one so suddenly. It’s like losing a piece of your soul.”
The President also honored Brandon Tsay, who tackled and disarmed the Star Ballroom gunman during the spree, preventing further carnage.
Biden’s cabinet is currently working on a plan to better respond to communities in the aftermath of mass shootings. The President has compared the forthcoming plan to the response from FEMA after a natural disaster.
