speech on gun violence in america

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The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500

Remarks by President   Biden on Gun   Safety

Rose Garden

3:02 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, thank you, thank you. (Applause.) Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Everyone should sit, except Mom and Dad. Mom and Dad, stand up. I want everybody to see the parents of this proud, young, new congressman. (Applause.) You did a heck of a job.

Congressman Frost, thank you for the introduction. And you’ve helped power a movement that’s turning a cause into reality. You know, you’re a big reason why I’m so optimistic about America’s future. So many — so many engaged young people — so many engaged.

I remember when I was young. (Laughter.) We have something in common: I got elected to the Senate when I was 29 years old. Only difference was he was eligible when he got elected to take office; I had to wait 17 days to be eligible. That was 827 years ago, but it was a while. (Laughter.)

And folks, Vice President Harris, members of the Cabinet, and so many members of Congress who are here and the relentless leaders on this critical issue.

You know, one of the members who couldn’t be here today is a really important member: Senator Chris Murphy. With Chris, who, together with Congressman Frost, introduced the bill that created a dedicated gun violence prevention office — he couldn’t be here today.

Since the tragedy in Sandy Hook — and I remember being there. I remember that — how I met with every one of the parents who were there. I met with every member — every family member.

And what I do also remember is that — I remember as we were leaving, the state police doing the investigation asked the senator if they’d meet with me — if I could meet with them. And I said of course I would. And I think there were about 12 to 14 of them. I walked in a room, and two of them started crying. And they said, “We need help. We need help.” And I looked at them; I said, “What can I do?” They said, “We need psychiatric help. We need help. We need help.”

Anyone who doesn’t think that these kinds of engagements have a permanent effect on young children — and, in many cases, alter their entire lives even if they’ve never had a bullet touch them — misunderstands. These were hard and tough cops asking me could I get them psychiatric help.

To all the state and local leaders and advocates from all across the country — and to the survivors and families who are with us today, many of whom Jill and I have gotten to know —

And, by the way, our losses may be different circumstances, but I know events like this are really hard to attend. You want to be here to promote the change, but it brings back all the memories as if it happened a day ago.

And I thank you, those of you who are parents, for being here — brothers, sisters for being here. It matters. You have absolute courage; you found purpose in your pain.

And because of all of you here today, all across the country, survivors, families, advocates — especially young people who demand our nation do better to protect all; who protested, organized, voted, and ran for office, and, yes, marched for their lives — I’m proud to announce the creation of the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention — the first office in our history. (Applause.)

I created — by executive order, I determined to send a clear message about how important this issue is to me and to the country. It matters.

And here’s why: After every mass shooting, we hear a simple message — the same message heard all over the country, and I’ve been to every mass shooting: Do something. Please do something. Do something to prevent the tragedies that leave behind survivors who will always carry the physical and emotional scars, families who will never be the same, communities overwhelmed by grief and trauma. Do something. Do something.

Well, my administration has been working relentlessly to do something.

To date, my administration has announced dozens of executive actions to reduce gun violence — more than any of my predecessors at this point in their presidencies. And they include everything from cracking down on ghost guns, breaking up gun trafficking, and so much more. (Applause.)

And last year, with the help — your help, I signed into law the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act: the most significant gun safety law in almost 30 years. (Applause.) It strengthens background checks, expands the use of red flag laws, improves access to mental health services, and so much more.

This historic law will save lives. It’s a really important first step.

And, by the way, I was the guy — along with a woman in California — who also — we once banned assault weapons and multiple magazines. We’re going to do it again.

A call to action. A reason to hope. Because for so long, the conventional wisdom was we’d never get any Republicans to support gun safety legislation. But we did.

For the first time in three decades, we came together to overcome the relentless opposition from the gun lobby, gun manufacturers, and so many politicians opposing commonsense gun legislation. And we beat them. (Applause.)

And we did it through a bipartisan effort that included the majority of responsible gun owners.

We’re not stopping here. Again, it’s — I’ll say it again. I’m not going to be quiet until we get it done: It’s time again to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. (Applause.)

If you need 80 shots in a magazine, you shouldn’t own a gun.

Because, look, last time we did it, it worked.

We also — last time, we established universal background checks and require safe storage of firearms. It’s time. It’s time. (Applause.)

Look, while we push — we push for Congress to do more, we’re going to centralize, accelerate, and intensify our work to save more lives more quickly.

That’s why this new White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention — it’s what it’s designed to do. It will drive and coordinate a government and a nationwide effort to reduce gun violence in America.

And it will be overseen by an incredible vice president, who understands this — (applause) — more than any vice president has. No, really. That’s not hyperbole. That’s a fact. She’s been on the frontlines of this issue her entire career as a prosecutor, as an attorney general, and as a United States senator. Her deep experience will be invaluable for this office.

And Stef — where is Stef Feldman?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: She’s right there.

THE PRESIDENT: Stef, I want you to stand up, please. Stef Feldman — (applause) — who’s been working on this issue with me since the Sandy Hook in 2012 — she was 13 years old when she joined me, but — (laughter) — since 2012 — will serve as director of the office.

An office — and the office will have four primary responsibilities:

First, to expedite the implementation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and the executive actions already announced. And I mean it: We’re going to fully implement it.

Second, coordinate more support for survivors, families, and communities affected by gun violence, including mental health care, financial assistance — the same way FEMA responds to natural disasters. (Applause.) The same way. And it helps folks recover and rebuild and alter. Look, folks, shootings are the ultimate superstorm, ripping through communities.

Third, identify new executive actions we can take within our legal authority to reduce gun violence.

And fourth, expand our coalition of partners in states and cities across America because we do have partners to get more — we need more state and local help to get these laws passed locally as well — and to strengthen our laws and give us more hope.

Folks, to be clear, none of these steps alone is going to solve the entirety of the gun violence epidemic. None of them. But together, they will save lives. (Applause.) And it’s going to help — it will help rally the nation with a sense of urgency and seriousness of purpose.

Today, guns — I never thought I’d even remotely say this in my whole career — guns are the number one killer of children in America. Guns are the number one killer of children in America — the United States of America. More than car accidents, more than cancer, more than other diseases.

In 2023 so far, our country has experienced more than 500 mass shootings and well over 30,000 deaths due to gun violence. That’s just totally unacceptable. It’s not who we are. And we have to act, and we have to act now.

And let me be very clear: If members of the Congress refuse to act, then we’ll need to elect new members of Congress that will act. (Applause.) Democrat or Republican.

Look, folks, there comes a point where our voices are so loud and our determination so clear that our effort can no longer be stopped. We’re reaching that point — we’ve reached that point today, in my view, where the safety of our kids from gun violence is on the ballot.

At the end of the day, whether they’re Democrats or Republicans, we all want our families to be safe. We all want to go to school, houses of worship, grocery stores, gyms, malls, movies without constant anxiety.

We all want our kids to have the freedom to learn how to read and write in school instead of duck and cover, for God’s sake. And it matters.

So, let me close with this. Earlier this summer, I was in Connecticut at a summit on gun safety hosted by Senator Murphy. Four students impacted by gun violence, who are here with us today, summoned extraordinary courage and stood and shared their stories on stage. Four of them.

They each came from different backgrounds, different parts of the country, different shootings. But they shared a common, singular message that one of them summed up in just a few words, and I quote, “the deadly and traumatic price for inaction.” That’s what he talked about: the deadly and traumatic price for inaction.

They made clear what all of you know too well — that price can no longer be the lives of our children and the people of our country. They spoke for an entire generation of Americans who will not be ignored, will not be shunned, and will not be silenced. (Applause.)

And I know — I know progress is hard. I’ve been at this a long time. But we’ve done it before, and we can do it again. If we’re here, I’m here to tell you that you — and Vice President Harris hears you as well.

You’re right. You’re right. We’re by your side, and we’re never going to get up — give up dealing with this problem. We’re never going to forget your loved ones. We’re never going to get there unless we remember.

You know, I know we’ll do this because I know you: heroes. Heroes proving that even with heavy hearts, you have unbreakable spirits. In memory of your loved ones, you’re building a movement that endures.

Above all, you’ll never give up on the one thing we must never lose: hope, hope, hope.

Jill and I, Kamala and Doug, our entire administration are more determined than ever to carry forward that hope, that inspiration, that light that you continue to give us all.

For the lives we have lost — for the lives we can save, we can do this. We just have to keep going. We just have to keep the faith. We just have to remember who we are.

Every time I’d walk out of my grandpop’s house up in Scranton, he’d yell, for real, “Joey, keep the faith.” And my grandmother would yell, “No, Joey, spread it. Spread it.” (Applause.) That’s what we have to do: spread the faith.

And remember — remember — and I mean this sincerely: We are the United States of America. There is nothing — nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together. Nothing we’ve ever tried to solve, when we’ve done it together, we haven’t succeeded.

May God bless you all. May God protect our troops. And may God protect our children. Thank you so very much. (Applause.)

3:30 P.M. EDT

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Full Transcript: Biden’s Speech on Guns

As the nation grieves for the victims of several recent mass shootings, the president called for a ban on assault weapons and new “red flag” laws.

• June 2, 2022

President Biden gave an address at the White House on Thursday calling for Congress to pass several gun control measures after a spate of recent mass shootings. The following is a transcript of his remarks, as recorded by The New York Times.

Memorial Day, this past Monday, Jill and I visited Arlington National Cemetery. As we entered those hallowed grounds, we saw rows and rows of crosses among the rows of headstones and other emblems of belief, honoring those who paid the ultimate price on battlefields around the world.

The day before, we visited Uvalde — Uvalde, Texas. In front of Robb Elementary School, we stood before 21 crosses, for 19 third and fourth graders and two teachers. On each cross, a name.

And nearby, a photo of each victim, that Jill and I reached out to touch. Innocent victims, murdered in a classroom that had been turned into a killing field. Standing there in that small town, like so many other communities across America, I couldn’t help but think there are too many other schools, too many other everyday places that have become killing fields, battlefields, here in America.

We stood in such a place just 12 days before, across from a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, memorializing 10 fellow Americans — a spouse, a parent, a grandparent, a sibling, gone forever. At both places, we spent hours with hundreds of family members who were broken, and whose lives will never be the same. They had one message for all of us: Do something. Just do something. For God’s sake, do something.

After Columbine, after Sandy Hook, after Charleston, after Orlando, after Las Vegas, after Parkland, nothing has been done. This time, that can’t be true. This time, we must actually do something. The issue we face is one of conscience and common sense.

For so many of you at home, I want to be very clear. This is not about taking away anyone’s guns. It’s not about vilifying gun owners. In fact, we believe we should be treating responsible gun owners as an example of how every gun owner should behave.

I respect the culture and the tradition and the concerns of lawful gun owners. At the same time, the Second Amendment, like all other rights, is not absolute. It was Justice Scalia who wrote, and I quote: “Like most rights, the right Second Amendment — the rights granted by the Second Amendment are not unlimited.” Not unlimited. It never has been.

There have always been limitations on what weapons you can own in America. For example, machine guns have been federally regulated for nearly 90 years, and this is still a free country. This isn’t about taking away anyone’s rights. It’s about protecting children. It’s about protecting families. It’s about protecting whole communities. It’s about protecting our freedoms to go to school, to a grocery store, to a church, without being shot and killed.

According to new data just released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, guns are the No. 1 killer of children in the United States of America. The No. 1 killer. More than car accidents, more than cancer. Over the last two decades, more school-age children have died from guns than on-duty police officers and active-duty military combined.

Think about that. More kids than on-duty cops killed by guns. More kids than soldiers killed by guns. For God’s sake. How much more carnage are we willing to accept? How many more innocent American lives must be taken before we say enough? Enough.

I know that we can’t prevent every tragedy, but here’s what I believe we have to do. Here’s what the overwhelming majority of the American people believe we must do. Here’s what the families in Buffalo and Uvalde, in Texas, told us we must do.

We need to ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines. And if we can’t ban assault weapons, then we should raise the age to purchase them from 18 to 21. Strengthen the background checks, enact safe storage laws and “red flag” laws. Repeal the immunity that protects gun manufacturers from liability. Address the mental health crisis deepening the trauma of gun violence, and as a consequence of that violence.

These are rational, common-sense measures. Here’s what it all means. It all means this: We should reinstate the assault weapons ban on high capacity magazines that we passed in 1994 with bipartisan support in Congress and the support of law enforcement.

Nine categories of semiautomatic weapons were included in that ban, like AK-47s and AR-15s. And in the 10 years it was law, mass shootings went down. But after Republicans let the law expire in 2004, and those weapons were allowed to be sold again, mass shootings tripled. Those are the facts.

A few years ago, the family of the inventor of the AR-15 said he would have been horrified to know his design was being used to slaughter children and other innocent lives instead of being used as a military weapon on the battlefields, as it was designed. That’s what it was designed for.

Enough, enough. We should limit how many rounds a weapon can hold. Why in God’s name should an ordinary citizen be able to purchase an assault weapon that holds 30-round magazines that let mass shooters fire hundreds of bullets in a matter of minutes? The damage was so devastating in Uvalde parents had to do DNA swabs to identify the remains of their children. Nine- and 10-year-old children.

Enough. We should expand background checks to keep guns out of the hands of felons, fugitives and those under restraining orders. Stronger background checks are something that the vast majority of Americans, including the majority of gun owners, agree on.

I also believe we should have safe storage laws, and personal liability for not locking up your gun. The shooter in Sandy Hook came from a home full of guns. They were too easy to access. That’s how he got the weapons. The weapon he used to kill his mother, and then murder 26 people, including 20 first graders.

If you own a weapon, you have a responsibility to secure it. Every responsible gun owner agrees. To make sure no one else can have access to it. To lock it up. To have trigger locks. And if you don’t, and something bad happens, you should be held responsible.

We should also have national red flag laws so that a parent, a teacher, a counselor can flag for a court that a child, a student, a patient is exhibiting violent tendencies, threatening classmates or experiencing suicidal thoughts — it makes them a danger to themselves or to others. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have red flag laws. The Delaware law is named after my son, Attorney General Beau Biden.

Fort Hood, Texas, 2009. Thirteen dead and more than 30 injured. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., 2018. Seventeen dead, 17 injured. In both places, countless others suffering with invisible wounds. Red flag laws could have stopped both these shooters.

In Uvalde, the shooter was 17 when he asked his sister to buy him an assault weapon, knowing he’d be denied because he was too young to purchase one himself. She refused. But as soon as he turned 18, he purchased two assault weapons for himself. Because in Texas, you can be 18 years old and buy an assault weapon, even though you can’t buy a pistol in Texas until you’re 21.

If we can’t ban assault weapons, as we should, we must at least raise the age to be able to purchase one to 21. Look, I know some folks will say 18-year-olds can serve in the military and fire those weapons, but that’s with training and supervision by the best-trained experts in the world. Don’t tell me raising the age won’t make a difference. Enough.

We should repeal the liability shield that often protects gun manufacturers from being sued for the death and destruction caused by their weapons. They’re the only industry in this country that has that kind of immunity.

Imagine. Imagine if the tobacco industry had been immune from being sued, where we’d be today. The gun industry’s special protections are outrageous. It must end.

And let there be no mistake about the psychological trauma that gun violence leaves behind. Imagine being that little girl, that brave little girl in Uvalde, who smeared blood off her murdered friend’s body onto her own face, to lie still among the corpses in her classroom and pretend she was dead in order to stay alive. Imagine. Imagine what it would be like for her to walk down the hallway of any school again.

Imagine what it’s like for children who experience this kind of trauma every day in school, on the streets, in communities all across America. Imagine what it’s like for so many parents to hug their children goodbye in the morning, not sure whether they’ll come back home. Unfortunately, too many people don’t have to imagine that at all.

Even before the pandemic, young people were already hurting. There’s a serious youth mental health crisis in this country. We have to do something about it. That’s why mental health is the heart of my unity agenda that I laid out in the State of the Union address this year.

We must provide more school counselors; more school nurses; more mental health services for students and for teachers. More people volunteering as mentors to help young people succeed. More privacy protection and resources to keep kids safe from the harms of social media.

This unity agenda won’t fully heal the wounded souls, but it will help. It matters.

I just told you what I’d do. The question now is: What will the congress do?

The House of Representatives already passed key measures we need: Expanding background checks to cover nearly all gun sales, including at gun shows and online sales. Getting rid of a loophole that allows a gun sale to go through after three business days, even if the background check has not been completed.

And the House is planning even more action next week. Safe storage requirements. The banning of high-capacity magazines. Raising the age to buy an assault weapon to 21. Federal red flag law. Codifying my ban on ghost guns that don’t have serial numbers and can’t be traced. And tougher laws to prevent gun trafficking and straw purchases.

This time, we have to take the time to do something. And this time, it’s time for the Senate to do something.

But, as we know, in order to get anything done in the Senate, we need a minimum of 10 Republican senators. I support the bipartisan efforts that include a small group of Democrats and Republican senators trying to find a way. But my God. The fact that the majority of the Senate Republicans don’t want any of these proposals even to be debated or come up for a vote, I find unconscionable.

We can’t fail the American people again. Since Uvalde, just over a week ago, there have been 20 other mass shootings in America, each with four or more people killed or injured, including yesterday, at a hospital in Tulsa, Okla. A shooter deliberately targeted a surgeon using an assault weapon he bought just a few hours before his rampage that left a surgeon, another doctor, a receptionist and a patient dead, and many more injured. That doesn’t count the carnage we see every single day that doesn’t make the headlines.

I’ve been in this fight for a long time. I know how hard it is, but I’ll never give up. And if Congress fails, I believe this time, a majority of the American people won’t give up, either. I believe the majority of you will act to turn your outrage into making this issue central to your vote. Enough, enough, enough.

Over the next 17 days, the families in Uvalde will continue burying their dead. It will take that long, in part, because it’s a town where everyone knows everyone, and day by day they will honor each one they lost. Jill and I met with the owner and staff of the funeral home, who was being strong, strong, strong to take care of their own. And the people of Uvalde mourned, as they do over the next 17 days. What will we be doing as a nation?

Jill and I met with the sister of the teacher who was murdered and whose husband died of a heart attack two days later, leaving behind four beautiful, orphaned children. All now orphans.

The sister asked us: What could she say? What could she tell her nieces and nephews? The most heartbreaking moments that I can remember. All I could think to say was, I told her to hold them tight. Hold them tight.

After visiting the school, we attended Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church with Father Eddy. In the pews, family and friends held each other tightly. As Archbishop Gustavo spoke, he asked the children in attendance to come up on the altar and sit in the altar with him, as he spoke. There wasn’t enough room, so a mom and her young son sat next to Jill and me in the first pew.

And as we left the church, a grandmother who had just lost her granddaughter passed me a handwritten letter. It read, quote: “Erase the invisible line that is dividing our nation. Come up with a solution and fix what’s broken and make the changes that are necessary to prevent this happening again.” End of quote.

My fellow Americans, enough. Enough. It’s time for each of us to do our part. It’s time to act. For the children we’ve lost. For the children we can save. For the nation we love. Let’s hear the call and the cry. Let’s meet the moment. Let us finally do something.

God bless the families who are hurting. God bless you all. From a hymn based in the 91st Psalm, sung in my church: “May he raise you up on eagle’s wings and bear you on the breath of dawn. Make you to shine like the sun and hold you in the palm of his hand.”

That’s my prayer for all of you. God bless you.

Here Are the Most Powerful Speeches From March For Our Lives in Washington

H undreds of March For Our Lives rallies took place across the country and around the world Saturday as people called for action on gun violence.

The rallies included hundreds of thousands of protesters and speeches from activists and survivors of shootings, including survivors of the Parkland, Fla. shooting David Hogg and Emma González.

The speeches, from Parkland students and others around the country, called on law makers to take action on gun control.

Here are some of the best speeches from the March For Our Lives:

Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg spoke at the Washington D.C. March For Our Lives rally.

“We are going to make this the voting issue. We are going to take this to every election, to every state and every city. When politicians send their thoughts and prayers with no action, we say, ‘No more.’ And to those politicians supported by the NRA, that allow the continued slaughter of our children and our future, I say get your resumes ready,” Hogg said.

Naomi Wadler

Naomi Wadler , at just 11, took the stage to address gun violence against African American women and girls that is under-reported.

“I am here today to acknowledge and represent the African-American girls whose stories don’t make the front page of every national newspaper. These stories don’t lead on the evening news,” Wadler said at the Washington D.C. March for Our Lives rally .

Emma González

“In a little over six minutes, 17 of our friends were taken from us, 15 more were injured, and everyone — absolutely everyone in the Douglas community — was forever altered,” Emma González said during her speech .

González opened her speech by addressing the Parkland shooting before making her most impactful statement of the speech by remaining silent. She then did not speak while she remained on stage for just over four minutes before a timer went off.

“Since the time that I came out here, it has been six minutes and 20 seconds,” she said after remaining silent. “The shooter has ceased shooting and will soon abandon his rifle, blend in with the students as they escape, and walk free for an hour before arrest. Fight for your lives before it’s someone else’s job.”

Yolanda Renee King

“My grandfather had a dream that his four little children will not be judged by the color of the skin, but the content of their character. I have a dream that enough is enough. And that this should be a gun-free world, period,” Yolanda Renee King , 9, standing alongside Parkland shooting survivor Jaclyn Corin, referencing her grandfather Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

King made a surprise appearance at the Washington D.C. March For Our Lives Rally.

Alex King and D’Angelo McDade

Alex King and D’Angelo McDade, both students from North Lawndale College Prep in Chicago and members of the student non-violence group the Peace Warriors, walked out on stage with duct tape over their mouths. King and McDade had met with Parkland students in Florida last month as part of an outreach to groups that have not benefited from the attention of wall-to-wall news coverage that the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas had.

“When will we as a nation understand that nonviolence is the way of a life for a courageous people? When will we as a nation understand that we are not here to fight against one another and we are here to fight for life and peace?” McDade said. “Dr. King once said, ‘Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.’ Which now leads me to say that violence cannot drive out violence, only peace can do that.”

He added, “As I stand here before you, I stand as D’Angelo McDade, an 18-year-old from the West Side of Chicago. I, too, am a victim, a survivor and a victor of gun violence. I come from a place where minorities are controlled by both violence and poverty… but today we say ‘No more!’ ”

Cameron Kasky

Cameron Kasky, who also attends Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and survived the Parkland shooting, spoke in Washington D.C. Kaksy read aloud the names of victims of the shooting, wishing one of the Nicholas Dworet a happy birthday. Dworet, who would have turned 18 next month, was killed in the shooting.

“My generation — having spent our entire lives seeing mass shooting after mass shooting — has learned that our voices are powerful and our votes matter. We must educate ourselves and start conversations that keep our country moving forward and we will. We hereby promise to fix the broken system we’ve been forced into and create a better world for the generations to come. Don’t worry, we’ve got this,” Kasky said.

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Biden talks gun safety at previously scheduled event hours after his son is found guilty on gun charges

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden addressed gun safety and his administration's steps to reduce gun violence in a speech Tuesday at an annual conference on the issue — hours after his son was found guilty on gun-related charges by a federal jury in Delaware.

"It’s time once again, to do what I did when I was a senator: ban assault weapons," Biden said, to large cheers from the crowd. "Who, in God’s name, needs a magazine which can hold 200 shells?” 

He delivered the headline speech at Everytown for Gun Safety's annual training conference, Gun Sense University, in Washington, D.C. The group said that the conference brings together volunteers and survivors of gun violence from across the country "to share best practices, participate in training sessions about effective organizing and prepare for the crucial work ahead."

The Biden-Harris 2024 presidential campaign released a memo ahead of the president's speech touting the administration's accomplishments to decrease gun violence.

"Fighting for a safer America — an America that does its part to save more lives from gun violence — is on the ballot this November," said the memo from campaign senior spokesperson Kevin Munoz.

Biden "signed the most significant federal bipartisan gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years," the memo said, "that went after gun traffickers and expanded federal background checks; has worked to combat deadly, untraceable ghost guns; and closed the background check loophole — and more."

The memo also blamed former President Donald Trump’s staunch support for the NRA and opposition to gun legislation for “the largest increase in violence in American history, leading to 20,000 more people dead by gun violence.”

Munoz said the Biden-Harris campaign is focused on gun issues. Last Friday, he said that Vice President Kamala Harris held a gun violence prevention campaign event in Maryland with Senate candidate Angela Alsobrooks. On the second anniversary of the mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Munoz said that the campaign released an ad buy focused on Latino battleground voters. He also said the campaign has held news conferences and events with students, survivors and elected officials across the country to discuss gun violence.

For his part, reducing gun violence has been a top priority for Biden as president. He highlighted it in his State of the Union address before Congress in March.

"My predecessor told the NRA he’s proud he did nothing on guns when he was President. After another school shooting in Iowa he said we should just 'get over it.' I say we must stop it," Biden said. "I’m proud we beat the NRA when I signed the most significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years! Now we must beat the NRA again! I’m demanding a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines!  Pass universal background checks! None of this violates the Second Amendment or vilifies responsible gun owners."

Rebecca Shabad is a politics reporter for NBC News based in Washington.

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Uvalde elementary school shooting

President biden calls for assault weapons ban and other measures to curb gun violence.

Ximena Bustillo

President Biden speaks at the Cross Hall of the White House on Thursday about the recent mass shootings and urges Congress to pass laws to combat gun violence. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

President Biden speaks at the Cross Hall of the White House on Thursday about the recent mass shootings and urges Congress to pass laws to combat gun violence.

President Biden called on Congress to ban assault weapons or to raise the age to be able to buy one from 18 to 21 and other measures to curb gun violence in the United States in an address Thursday night.

"If we can't ban assault weapons then we should raise the age to purchase them from 18 to 21," Biden said.

He also called for a ban on high-capacity magazines, background checks, red flag laws and a repeal of the immunity that protects gun manufacturers from legal liability if their weapons are used in violence.

The remarks came the day after the 233rd mass shooting in the U.S. this year took place in Tulsa, Okla., that resulted in five people dead including the shooter at Saint Francis Hospital.

This was a week after 19 students and two teachers were killed, and 17 others injured at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas. And a little over two weeks after 10 people were killed and three others were injured during a racist attack at a grocery store in Buffalo, N.Y.

As senators seek common ground on guns, 'red flag' laws become a focus

"There are too many other schools, too many other day places that have become killing fields, battlefields here in America," Biden said Thursday evening. "The issue we face is one of consciousness and common sense. ... I want to be very clear: This is not about taking away anyone's guns. It's not about vilifying gun owners."

The president cited a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Center that guns were the leading cause of death among children.

"Over the past two decades, more school-aged children have died from guns than on-duty police officers and active-duty military combined," Biden said.

He described the impact of the AR-15 rifle on the children in the Texas school shooting.

"The damage was so devastating in Uvalde that parents had to do DNA swabs to identify the remains of their children, 9- and 10-year-olds," he said.

Reaction from gun control advocates was mixed. Some groups like Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action praised the speech, while others — including Guns Down America ; Manny Oliver, the father of a child killed in the Parkland shooting; and former Parkland student Cameron Kasky — criticized the president for not taking more aggressive steps to lobby Congress or change laws.

"Ok...I was expecting an executive order and all we got was an executive prayer," Oliver tweeted .

Senators are continuing talks during recess to find a compromise on gun legislation

As a senator, Biden was the author of the assault-weapons ban, which was in place for a decade until 2004. But in today's political climate, the president has few realistic avenues to pursue gun control without congressional action.

Although there are nascent signs of an agreement on potential legislation, the prospect of bipartisan action on guns typically fades in the weeks after mass shootings.

"This time, it's time for the Senate to do something," Biden said, adding that 10 Republican senators need to be on board with any effort.

"The fact that a majority of Senate Republicans don't want any of these proposals even to be debated, or come up for a vote, I find unconscionable. We can't fail the American people again."

On the Senate side, a deal may be further away but a bipartisan group of senators led by John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., spent the past week attempting to reach a deal on potential legislation that would address gun violence.

On the table are state incentives to pass red flag laws, updates to school safety protocols and changes to background checks.

But it is easier said than done. GOP members have historically stood together in opposition to any law that could limit gun rights .

Separately in the Democratic-controlled House, the Judiciary Committee held a testy markup Thursday to advance a series of bills that would, among other things, raise the age for buying semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21, ban high-capacity magazines and increase background check requirements — nearly all of the provisions Biden advocated for in his speech.

The full House could vote as early as next week on the package. The prospect of that measure making any headway in the Senate are close to nil.

Without congressional action, executive action is limited. Biden has signed a series of executive orders that tackle ghost guns and braces on AR-15 pistols — but such rules can be undone by a following administration.

Biden Cabinet members call for "common sense gun laws"

Members of Biden's Cabinet have spoken out in favor of congressional action to enact "common sense gun laws" in recent days.

"We, of course, hold the people of Tulsa in our hearts but we, of course, reaffirm our commitment to passing common sense gun safety laws," Vice President Harris said at the top of remarks at an event highlighting federal student loan cancellation for students of the for-profit Corinthian Colleges chain. "No more excuses. Thoughts and prayers are important but we need Congress to act."

On Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack echoed the sentiment at the start of a speech at Georgetown University.

"Added to this litany of challenges, the tragic events recently in New York and Texas, where innocent people shopping at a grocery store and children in school were gunned down because we as a nation have not yet summoned the courage to put common sense gun laws into place," Vilsack said.

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Remarks by the President and the Vice President on Gun Violence

South Court Auditorium

11:52 A.M. EST

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Before I begin today, let me say to the families of the innocents who were murdered 33 days ago, our heart goes out to you.  And you show incredible courage -- incredible courage -- being here.  And the President and I are going to do everything in our power to honor the memory of your children and your wives with the work we take up here today.

It’s been 33 days since the nation’s heart was broken by the horrific, senseless violence that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School -- 20 -- 20 beautiful first-graders gunned down in a place that's supposed to be their second sanctuary.  Six members of the staff killed trying to save those children.  It’s literally been hard for the nation to comprehend, hard for the nation to fathom.

And I know for the families who are here that time is not measured in days, but it’s measured in minutes, in seconds, since you received that news.  Another minute without your daughter. Another minute without your son.  Another minute without your wife.  Another minute without your mom.

I want to personally thank Chris and Lynn McDonald, who lost their beautiful daughter, Grace, and the other parents who I had a chance to speak to, for their suggestions and for -- again, just for the courage of all of you to be here today.  I admire the grace and the resolve that you all are showing.  And I must say I’ve been deeply affected by your faith, as well.  And the President and I are going to do everything to try to match the resolve you’ve demonstrated. 

No one can know for certain if this senseless act could have been prevented, but we all know we have a moral obligation -- a moral obligation -- to do everything in our power to diminish the prospect that something like this could happen again.

As the President knows, I’ve worked in this field a long time -- in the United States Senate, having chaired a committee that had jurisdiction over these issues of guns and crime, and having drafted the first gun violence legislation -- the last gun violence legislation, I should say.  And I have no illusions about what we’re up against or how hard the task is in front of us.  But I also have never seen the nation’s conscience so shaken by what happened at Sandy Hook.  The world has changed, and it’s demanding action.

It’s in this context that the President asked me to put together, along with Cabinet members, a set of recommendations about how we should proceed to meet that moral obligation we have.  And toward that end, the Cabinet members and I sat down with 229 groups -- not just individuals, representing groups -- 229 groups from law enforcement agencies to public health officials, to gun officials, to gun advocacy groups, to sportsmen and hunters and religious leaders.  And I’ve spoken with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, had extensive conversations with mayors and governors and county officials. 

And the recommendations we provided to the President on Monday call for executive actions he could sign, legislation he could call for, and long-term research that should be undertaken. They're based on the emerging consensus we heard from all the groups with whom we spoke, including some of you who are victims of this god-awful occurrence -- ways to keep guns out of the wrong hands, as well as ways to take comprehensive action to prevent violence in the first place. 

We should do as much as we can, as quickly as we can.  And we cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good.  So some of what you will hear from the President will happen immediately; some will take some time.  But we have begun.  And we are starting here today and we’re going to resolve to continue this fight.

During the meetings that we held, we met with a young man who’s here today -- I think Colin Goddard is here.  Where are you, Colin?  Colin was one of the survivors of the Virginia Tech massacre.  He was in the classroom.  He calls himself one of the “lucky seven.”  And he’ll tell you he was shot four times on that day and he has three bullets that are still inside him. 

And when I asked Colin about what he thought we should be doing, he said, “I’m not here because of what happened to me. I’m here because of what happened to me keeps happening to other people and we have to do something about it.”

Colin, we will.  Colin, I promise you, we will.  This is our intention.  We must do what we can now.  And there’s no person who is more committed to acting on this moral obligation we have than the President of the United States of America.

Ladies and gentlemen, President Barack Obama.  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, everybody.  Please have a seat.  Good afternoon, everybody. 

Let me begin by thanking our Vice President, Joe Biden, for your dedication, Joe, to this issue, for bringing so many different voices to the table.  Because while reducing gun violence is a complicated challenge, protecting our children from harm shouldn’t be a divisive one. 

Over the month since the tragedy in Newtown, we’ve heard from so many, and, obviously, none have affected us more than the families of those gorgeous children and their teachers and guardians who were lost.  And so we’re grateful to all of you for taking the time to be here, and recognizing that we honor their memories in part by doing everything we can to prevent this from happening again.

But we also heard from some unexpected people.  In particular, I started getting a lot of letters from kids.  Four of them are here today -- Grant Fritz, Julia Stokes, Hinna Zeejah, and Teja Goode.  They’re pretty representative of some of the messages that I got.  These are some pretty smart letters from some pretty smart young people. 

Hinna, a third-grader -- you can go ahead and wave, Hinna. That’s you -- (laughter.)  Hinna wrote, “I feel terrible for the parents who lost their children…I love my country and [I] want everybody to be happy and safe.”

And then, Grant -- go ahead and wave, Grant.  (Laughter.)  Grant said, “I think there should be some changes.  We should learn from what happened at Sandy Hook…I feel really bad.”

And then, Julia said -- Julia, where are you?  There you go -- “I’m not scared for my safety, I’m scared for others.  I have four brothers and sisters and I know I would not be able to bear the thought of losing any of them.”

These are our kids.  This is what they’re thinking about.  And so what we should be thinking about is our responsibility to care for them, and shield them from harm, and give them the tools they need to grow up and do everything that they’re capable of doing -- not just to pursue their own dreams, but to help build this country.  This is our first task as a society, keeping our children safe.  This is how we will be judged.  And their voices should compel us to change.

And that’s why, last month, I asked Joe to lead an effort, along with members of my Cabinet, to come up with some concrete steps we can take right now to keep our children safe, to help prevent mass shootings, to reduce the broader epidemic of gun violence in this country. 

And we can't put this off any longer.  Just last Thursday, as TV networks were covering one of Joe’s meetings on this topic, news broke of another school shooting, this one in California.  In the month since 20 precious children and six brave adults were violently taken from us at Sandy Hook Elementary, more than 900 of our fellow Americans have reportedly died at the end of a gun -- 900 in the past month.  And every day we wait, that number will keep growing.

So I’m putting forward a specific set of proposals based on the work of Joe’s task force.  And in the days ahead, I intend to use whatever weight this office holds to make them a reality. Because while there is no law or set of laws that can prevent every senseless act of violence completely, no piece of legislation that will prevent every tragedy, every act of evil, if there is even one thing we can do to reduce this violence, if there is even one life that can be saved, then we've got an obligation to try.

And I’m going to do my part.  As soon as I'm finished speaking here, I will sit at that desk and I will sign a directive giving law enforcement, schools, mental health professionals and the public health community some of the tools they need to help reduce gun violence.

We will make it easier to keep guns out of the hands of criminals by strengthening the background check system.  We will help schools hire more resource officers if they want them and develop emergency preparedness plans.  We will make sure mental health professionals know their options for reporting threats of violence -- even as we acknowledge that someone with a mental illness is far more likely to be a victim of violent crime than the perpetrator. 

And while year after year, those who oppose even modest gun safety measures have threatened to defund scientific or medical research into the causes of gun violence, I will direct the Centers for Disease Control to go ahead and study the best ways to reduce it -- and Congress should fund research into the effects that violent video games have on young minds.  We don't benefit from ignorance.  We don't benefit from not knowing the science of this epidemic of violence.

These are a few of the 23 executive actions that I’m announcing today.  But as important as these steps are, they are in no way a substitute for action from members of Congress.  To make a real and lasting difference, Congress, too, must act -- and Congress must act soon.  And I’m calling on Congress to pass some very specific proposals right away.

First:  It’s time for Congress to require a universal background check for anyone trying to buy a gun.  (Applause.)   The law already requires licensed gun dealers to run background checks, and over the last 14 years that’s kept 1.5 million of the wrong people from getting their hands on a gun.  But it’s hard to enforce that law when as many as 40 percent of all gun purchases are conducted without a background check.  That’s not safe.  That's not smart.  It’s not fair to responsible gun buyers or sellers. 

If you want to buy a gun -- whether it’s from a licensed dealer or a private seller -- you should at least have to show you are not a felon or somebody legally prohibited from buying one.  This is common sense.  And an overwhelming majority of Americans agree with us on the need for universal background checks -- including more than 70 percent of the National Rifle Association’s members, according to one survey.  So there’s no reason we can’t do this.

Second:  Congress should restore a ban on military-style assault weapons, and a 10-round limit for magazines.  (Applause.) The type of assault rifle used in Aurora, for example, when paired with high-capacity magazines, has one purpose -- to pump out as many bullets as possible, as quickly as possible; to do as much damage, using bullets often designed to inflict maximum damage. 

And that's what allowed the gunman in Aurora to shoot 70 people -- 70 people -- killing 12 in a matter of minutes.  Weapons designed for the theater of war have no place in a movie theater.  A majority of Americans agree with us on this. 

And, by the way, so did Ronald Reagan, one of the staunchest defenders of the Second Amendment, who wrote to Congress in 1994, urging them -- this is Ronald Reagan speaking -- urging them to “listen to the American public and to the law enforcement community and support a ban on the further manufacture of [military-style assault] weapons.”  (Applause.) 

And finally, Congress needs to help, rather than hinder, law enforcement as it does its job.  We should get tougher on people who buy guns with the express purpose of turning around and selling them to criminals.  And we should severely punish anybody who helps them do this.  Since Congress hasn’t confirmed a director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in six years, they should confirm Todd Jones, who will be -- who has been Acting, and I will be nominating for the post.  (Applause.)

And at a time when budget cuts are forcing many communities to reduce their police force, we should put more cops back on the job and back on our streets.

Let me be absolutely clear.  Like most Americans, I believe the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms. I respect our strong tradition of gun ownership and the rights of hunters and sportsmen.  There are millions of responsible, law-abiding gun owners in America who cherish their right to bear arms for hunting, or sport, or protection, or collection. 

I also believe most gun owners agree that we can respect the Second Amendment while keeping an irresponsible, law-breaking few from inflicting harm on a massive scale.  I believe most of them agree that if America worked harder to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, there would be fewer atrocities like the one that occurred in Newtown.  That’s what these reforms are designed to do.  They’re common-sense measures.  They have the support of the majority of the American people. 

And yet, that doesn’t mean any of this is going to be easy to enact or implement.  If it were, we’d already have universal background checks.  The ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines never would have been allowed to expire.  More of our fellow Americans might still be alive, celebrating birthdays and anniversaries and graduations. 

This will be difficult.  There will be pundits and politicians and special interest lobbyists publicly warning of a tyrannical, all-out assault on liberty -- not because that’s true, but because they want to gin up fear or higher ratings or revenue for themselves.  And behind the scenes, they’ll do everything they can to block any common-sense reform and make sure nothing changes whatsoever. 

The only way we will be able to change is if their audience, their constituents, their membership says this time must be different -- that this time, we must do something to protect our communities and our kids. 

I will put everything I've got into this, and so will Joe.  But I tell you, the only way we can change is if the American people demand it.  And by the way, that doesn’t just mean from certain parts of the country.  We're going to need voices in those areas, in those congressional districts, where the tradition of gun ownership is strong to speak up and to say this is important.  It can't just be the usual suspects.  We have to examine ourselves and our hearts, and ask ourselves what is important. 

This will not happen unless the American people demand it.  If parents and teachers, police officers and pastors, if hunters and sportsmen, if responsible gun owners, if Americans of every background stand up and say, enough; we’ve suffered too much pain and care too much about our children to allow this to continue -- then change will come.  That's what it's going to take.

In the letter that Julia wrote me, she said, “I know that laws have to be passed by Congress, but I beg you to try very hard.”  (Laughter.)  Julia, I will try very hard.  But she’s right.  The most important changes we can make depend on congressional action.  They need to bring these proposals up for a vote, and the American people need to make sure that they do. 

Get them on record.  Ask your member of Congress if they support universal background checks to keep guns out of the wrong hands. Ask them if they support renewing a ban on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.  And if they say no, ask them why not.  Ask them what’s more important -- doing whatever it takes to get a A grade from the gun lobby that funds their campaigns, or giving parents some peace of mind when they drop their child off for first grade?  (Applause.)

This is the land of the free, and it always will be.  As Americans, we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights that no man or government can take away from us.  But we've also long recognized, as our Founders recognized, that with rights come responsibilities.  Along with our freedom to live our lives as we will comes an obligation to allow others to do the same.  We don’t live in isolation.  We live in a society, a government of, and by, and for the people.  We are responsible for each other. 

The right to worship freely and safely, that right was denied to Sikhs in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.  The right to assemble peaceably, that right was denied shoppers in Clackamas, Oregon, and moviegoers in Aurora, Colorado.  That most fundamental set of rights to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness -- fundamental rights that were denied to college students at Virginia Tech, and high school students at Columbine, and elementary school students in Newtown, and kids on street corners in Chicago on too frequent a basis to tolerate, and all the families who’ve never imagined that they’d lose a loved one to a bullet -- those rights are at stake.  We’re responsible.

When I visited Newtown last month, I spent some private time with many of the families who lost their children that day.  And one was the family of Grace McDonald.  Grace’s parents are here. Grace was seven years old when she was struck down -- just a gorgeous, caring, joyful little girl.  I’m told she loved pink. She loved the beach.  She dreamed of becoming a painter. 

And so just before I left, Chris, her father, gave me one of her paintings, and I hung it in my private study just off the Oval Office.  And every time I look at that painting, I think about Grace.  And I think about the life that she lived and the life that lay ahead of her, and most of all, I think about how, when it comes to protecting the most vulnerable among us, we must act now -- for Grace.  For the 25 other innocent children and devoted educators who had so much left to give.  For the men and women in big cities and small towns who fall victim to senseless violence each and every day.  For all the Americans who are counting on us to keep them safe from harm.  Let’s do the right thing.  Let’s do the right thing for them, and for this country that we love so much.  (Applause.) 

Thank you.  Let’s sign these orders.  (Applause.)

(The executive orders are signed.)  (Applause.)

All right, there we go.  (Applause.)

END    12:17 P.M. EST