Following the recent shooting in Texas, several U.S authorities have encouraged government members to focus on gun laws and other issues related to violence prevention. President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Sen. Chris Murphy called for more robust measures following these events that continue to happen across America.
“We as a nation have to ask when in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby. When in God’s name do we do what we all know in our gut needs to be done?” said Biden addressing the public.
The shooter is now under police custody after the Texas state patrol responded to the incident at 11:30 Tuesday morning. The suspect, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, awaits a decision by law enforcement officials.
“Tonight, I ask the nation to pray for them”
Biden was not happy about the slow progress of gun control in America.
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris released a statement expressing her sympathies to the family of those who lost their lives and said something needs be done about it.
Harris said, “As a nation, we have to have the courage to take action and understand the nexus between what makes for reasonable and sensible public policy to ensure something like this never happens again.”
“I would normally say in a moment like this — we would all say naturally — that our hearts break. But our hearts keep getting broken,” the Vice President added.
“Why do you spend all this time running for the United States Senate? Why do you go through all the hassle of getting this job, of putting yourself in the position of authority if your answer as the slaughter increases, as our kids run for their lives, we do nothing?” Senator Chris Murphy, D-Conn, told other lawmakers in the Senate.
“I’m here on this floor to beg, to literally get down on my hands and knees and beg my colleagues,” Murphy added.
“Find a path forward here. Work with us to find a way to pass laws that make this less likely.”
President Joe Biden
On the other hand, Republican lawmakers blame mental illness for the incident saying it was what pushed the 18-year-old to commit the crime. To them, the law should address medical conditions in the country – to which Murphy did not agree.
“We have mass shooting after mass shooting and, you know, spare me the bullshit about mental illness,” Murphy said to the press. “We don’t have any more mental illness than any other country in the world.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. also amplified the calls for stricter gun possessions, “It is time for all in Congress to heed the will of the American people and join in enacting the House-passed bipartisan, commonsense, life-saving legislation into law,” she said. Pelosi called the incident a ‘cold-blooded murder.’
In a dissenting opinion, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said that gun laws should not be reformed since it is not effective and counterproductive.
However, President Biden remained with his stance and echoed calls across government agencies. “Our prayer tonight is those parents lying in bed trying to figure out, will I be able to sleep again? What do I say to my other children? What happens tomorrow?”
