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President Biden is renewing his call on Congress to ban assault weapons in the wake of the school shooting in Nashville, Tenn., which killed three students and three staff members.
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said in a statement the shooter was „heavily armed with three guns, two of them assault-type weapons.“
„People say, why do I keep saying this if it’s not happening?“ Biden said, referring to his frequent appeal for such a ban. „Because I want you to know who isn’t doing it, who isn’t helping, to put pressure on them.“
The Nashville incident is the latest in 130 mass shooting incidents so far this year, according to data from the national Gun Violence Archive.
South Dakota Sen. John Thune, No. 2 in Senate GOP leadership, told reporters Tuesday it’s „premature“ to have discussions on potential legislation in the wake of the attack.
„There’s an ongoing investigation and I think we need to let the facts come out,“ he said.Senate chaplain urges for more than „thoughts and prayers“
„As a nation, we owe these families more than our prayers. We owe them action,“ Biden said Tuesday.
His comments echo remarks from the chaplain of the Senate, Barry Black, who opened Tuesday’s legislative session by imploring lawmakers to take action in the aftermath of the deadly shooting.
„Lord, when babies die at a church school, it is time for us to move beyond thoughts and prayers,“ said Black, who has been the Senate chaplain since 2003. „Remind our lawmakers of the words of the British statesman Edmund Burke: All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.“
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who was shot during a congressional baseball practice in 2017, told reporters on Tuesday he gets „really angry when I see people trying to politicize it for their own personal agenda.“
„The first thing in any kind of tragedy that I do is, I pray,“ he said.
