Filenews 1 June 2022
U.S. President Biden is taking action after the massacre at a Texas elementary school last week that claimed the lives of 19 students and two teachers. Joe Biden said he plans to meet with lawmakers in Congress about guns.
The promise to the families of the victims
"There is a lot of horrible pain," Biden said during a meeting with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in the Oval Office.
Biden, who visited the families of the victims on Sunday in Walde, Texas, said he experienced the consequences of mass gun attacks, more than any other U.S. president.
"A lot of it could have been avoided and the disaster..., it's unbelievable," he said. "I will meet with Congress on weapons. I promise you that," he said, addressing reporters as they left the presidential office.
Ardern expressed her condolences to the victims of the Attack in Texas, but also to the May 14 racist attack in Buffalo, in which ten people were killed.
"It's devastating to see the consequences in these communities," she said.
Ardern said she would be happy to share anything related to New Zealand's experience regarding gun ownership if it would be of value.
Biden called what the reported country is doing with tech companies "important."
The example of New Zealand
After a 2019 carnage in Christchurch, New Zealand, in which a lone gunman killed 51 Muslims, Ardern banned semi-automatic weapons and imposed other restrictions on the use of weapons.
The 18-year-old Texas carnage who killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school.
These actions by the New Zealand government are not in line with the situation in the US, where members of Congress and activists are fighting to tackle gun violence, with incidents of gun attacks being numerous.
In the U.S., lawmakers have repeatedly failed to proactively strengthen gun laws, following bloody incidents of gun violence over the past decade.
Democrats and Republicans on guns
Biden's Democrats are open to imposing new restrictions on gun ownership, while Republicans, on the other hand, have a broader view of gun ownership rights.
Members of Congress from both parties are working on possible legislative action despite previous failed attempts. The White House announced Tuesday that Biden does not support a ban on all weapons, stressing that it is working on the possibility of taking action with executive orders to protect against gun violence.
The White House is urging Congress to take action on this issue, while Biden for the moment seems to be giving the legislatures the necessary time to find compromises that could be passed.
"We will allow this process to evolve," White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre said.
Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott has repeatedly said after the attack on Walde Elementary School last week that gun regulations are not the solution to the problem.
Source: in.gr
