President Biden marked the 12th anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut on Saturday with a fresh pitch for Congress to act on gun reform legislation.
Biden in a press release touted his administration’s efforts to combat gun violence but argued that there was more to be done — especially as his presidency enters the final stretch.
“Jill and I still grieve this unimaginable loss and continue to pray for the victims’ families and others traumatized by this senseless violence,” he wrote. “Many individuals impacted by the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School have turned their pain into purpose.”
“The legacy of this tragedy is one of great loss — but also hope,” he added. “Twelve years ago, moms sitting at their kitchen counters went online, expressed their outrage, and organized for commonsense gun safety legislation.”
The president also offered his appreciation for the families of those lost to gun violence and advocates who have taken a stance, established foundations to carry on their loved ones’ memories and vowed to hold the gun industry accountable.
“With the strength of this emboldened movement by our side, we have made historic progress to reduce gun violence over the past four years,” Biden said, outlining the administration’s gun reform initiatives, including gun safety legislation at the federal and state level, and the creation of the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
“After four years under my administration, homicides are down, crime is falling, and we are seeing fewer mass shootings. This progress is no accident,” he continued. “Still, more must be done.”
“Congress has an obligation to ‘do something’ in order to protect our children and communities from this scourge of gun violence,” the president wrote. “We are the only nation experiencing this epidemic and there are common sense policies that the majority of Americans agree with, and that Congress can easily take action on.”
The pressure comes after Congress passed a bipartisan gun safety bill just over two years ago, which Biden signed into law in June 2022. The law enhances background checks for gun purchasers ages 18-21, makes obtaining firearms through straw purchases or trafficking a federal offense and clarifies the definition of a federally licensed firearm dealer.
In his latest pitch, he listed universal background checks, red flag laws, safe storage requirements and bans on assault weapons — like the one used in the Sandy Hook shooting — as first steps.
The remarks come nearly three months after Biden signed an executive order focused on gun violence prevention. Under the order, the administration aimed to crack down on 3D printed firearms — such as the ghost gun used in the recent fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson — and to improve active shooter drills at schools across the nation.
“I remain hopeful that we will continue to make progress on these priorities,” Biden concluded in the release.
Many of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting survivors graduated earlier this year, over a decade after the massacre in Newtown, Conn., left 20 students and six educators dead.
