A Decade After Sandy Hook, Biden Calls For More Gun Legislation
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Wednesday marks 10 years since the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre, where a gunman killed 20 first-grade students and six educators in Newtown, Connecticut. President Joe Biden honored the anniversary by renewing calls for a ban on assault-style weapons.
Key Quotes: In a statement from the White House, Biden said, “We should have societal guilt for taking too long to deal with this problem. We have a moral obligation to pass and enforce laws that can prevent these things from happening again. We owe it to the courageous, young survivors and to the families who lost part of their soul ten years ago to turn their pain into purpose.” At the time of the shooting, Biden was serving as Vice President under former president Barack Obama. Obama tweeted on Wednesday that he considers the massacre “the single darkest day of my presidency… I felt not just sorrow but anger at a world that could allow such things to happen.”
For Context: Last summer, Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which expanded background check requirements and firearm purchasing restrictions. Acknowledging this bill in his statement, Biden said, “still, we must do more.”
How the Media Covered It: The anniversary, and Biden’s statement, were covered across the spectrum. An article in Breitbart drew a link between Biden’s calls for gun legislation with last week’s announcement that Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout would be freed in a prisoner exchange. Axios called the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act the “first significant gun-control policy change in years.”
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Biden: "We should have societal guilt" for inaction on guns after Sandy HookPresident Biden said in a statement Wednesday that the U.S. should have "societal guilt" for not taking more action to address gun violence after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.
Why it matters: Wednesday marks the 10th anniversary of the mass shooting that killed 20 first graders and six educators.
Biden, who was serving as vice president at the time of the mass shooting, reiterated a commitment to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, saying they "have no purpose other than to kill people in large...
From the Left
Sandy Hook anniversary: Biden cites ‘societal guilt’ on gunsPresident Joe Biden on Wednesday said the U.S. “should have societal guilt” for the slow pace of action on restricting access to firearms as he marked the 10th anniversary of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Twenty students and six educators died in the massacre at the Newtown, Connecticut, school which shocked the nation. Biden was using the anniversary to renew his call for a ban on assault-style weapons like the one used in the Sandy Hook shooting, as well as high-capacity magazines.
“We should have societal guilt...
From the Right
Joe Biden Marks 10th Anniversary of Sandy Hook By Pushing More Gun ControlPresident Joe Biden (D) marked the tenth anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School attack by pushing for a ban on “assault weapons” and “high capacity” magazines.
He released a statement in which he claimed Americans should feel “societal guilt” for having gone this long without banning AR-15s, AK-47s, and other commonly owned firearms which Democrats label “assault weapons.”
Biden then pointed to the gun control he signed during the summer–the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act–and moved on to push for more gun control now:
Still, we must do more. I am...
AllSides Picks
March 28th, 2024
March 28th, 2024
March 28th, 2024
March 27th, 2024