On the Three Year Mark of the Tragic Shooting in Parkland, FL, President Biden Called on Congress to Pass Common Sense Gun Safety Legislation, Stating “The Time to Act is Now”
Last Week, Everytown and Moms Demand Action Met with White House Leadership to Discuss the Need for Urgent Executive and Legislative Action on Gun Safety
NEW YORK –– Today, Everytown for Gun Safety and its grassroots networks, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, released the following statements after President Joe Biden marked three years since the mass shooting in Parkland, FL by acknowledging the myriad effects of gun violence in America, recognizing the importance of survivor and student voices, and calling on Congress to enact common sense gun safety legislation, including requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers. The tragic mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. on February, 14, 2018, killed 17 and wounded 17 others.
“President Biden’s eloquent call for congressional action is a fitting tribute to every gun violence survivor who has, as he put it, ‘had to bury pieces of their soul deep within the Earth,’” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “We look forward to the vital measures President Biden laid out being introduced and debated in Congress, starting with requiring background checks on all gun sales. In the meantime, we anticipate President Biden will continue to lead on this issue with swift executive action to repair our background check system, as well as investments in community-based efforts to address skyrocketing rates of city gun violence.”
“It’s been 25 years since our federal government passed a significant gun safety law, and our grassroots army will do everything possible to ensure that the measures supported by President Biden are put forward and passed,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action. “These recommendations are a welcome change from the inaction of the Trump administration over the past four years. Families across the country impacted by gun violence –– including the Parkland victims and survivors –– have been waiting for this day for far too long.”
Last week, Everytown and Moms Demand Action met with White House Leadership, including Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement Cedric Richmond, to discuss the need for urgent action on gun safety.
Everytown and Moms Demand have released executive action and legislative roadmaps for how the Biden administration and Congress can act to address America’s deadly gun violence crisis, which kills more than 100 Americans every day and wounds many more. Post-election polling has shown that 93% of Americans support background checks on all gun sales (on par with passing another COVID-19 relief package) and overwhelming majorities of ticket splitters support executive and legislative action in the first 100 days.
This is the strongest gun safety administration in history, as evidenced by President Biden’s long record of taking on the NRA and passing life-saving laws, Vice President Kamala Harris’ years of gun safety advocacy, and the unmatched gun sense cabinet they have built in recent months.