Anniversary of the Uvalde/Biden tragedy, calls for gun control measures

2023-05-25 15:29:46, Kosova & Bota CNA

A year after the killing of 19 students and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, President Joe Biden is calling for the passage of "common sense gun control laws" that would limit access to automatic assault weapons. President Biden's political rivals have consistently resisted these efforts, and a year after the tragedy in Texas, almost nothing has changed in this regard.

Everything changed for the families of the victims in Uvalde, Texas a year ago when a gunman entered Robb Elementary School and with a powerful automatic weapon killed 19 children and two teachers.

During the visit he made to the small town of Uvalde a few days after the incident, President Biden said that he shared the pain with the parents of the murdered students and that they had offered him a prayer.

"In every country we heard the same message: Do something. For God's sake, please do something. We did something after the incident, but it was not enough at all," he said.

President Biden is seeking Congressional support to ban automatic assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

Many Republicans oppose gun control measures, saying they violate the Second Amendment to the US Constitution, which protects the right to bear arms. In June 2022, Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz vetoed a bill aimed at reducing gun violence.

"This measure would disarm law-abiding citizens. But, criminals do not respect the laws. "Disarming all the victims would make it easier for criminals to cause chaos," he said.

The White House said Wednesday that the problem of mass shootings cannot be solved without action from Congress.

“The president has continued to implement dozens of executive orders to help reduce gun violence and keep military weapons out of the hands of dangerous people. But he has continued to say that these measures are not enough," said White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre.

In Uvalde, the pain continues to be present.

"This is a difficult week. We can't imagine the pain that the families of the victims are experiencing a year after the incident and we still don't have an answer for this", says the Mayor of Uvalde, Don McLaughlin.

On Wednesday, the Texas state Senate marked the anniversary of the incident.

"A moment of silence for the tragedy in Uvalde, for the families and for the victims. Thank you", said the deputy governor of Texas, Dan Patrick. / VOA