Day 62: A Call to Calm
Ten people are dead and a 21-year-old in custody after he went on a shooting spree with an AR-15 in a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado. It is the seventh mass shooting in as many days in the United States.
With the investigation ongoing, President Biden moved quickly to call for gun reform. “First, 10 lives have been lost,” he said, “and more families have been shattered by gun violence in the state of Colorado. And Jill and I are devastated.
“…Less than a week after the horrific murders of eight people and the assault on the AAPI community in Georgia, while the flag was still flying half-staff for the tragedy, another American city has been scarred by gun violence and the resulting trauma.”
Days before, a judge had just blocked Boulder’s 2-year-old ban on assault weapons and large capacity magazines, citing state law that prohibits local government from restricting gun ownership.
Gun control is also one of the issues spurring DC Statehood.
Biden extended “deepest thanks to the heroic police and other first responders who acted so quickly,” at the grocery store and honored the police officer who was slain in the incident.
“I commend the exceptional bravery of Officer Eric Talley,” Biden said. “I send my deepest condolences to his family — his close, close family and seven children.”
Talley was the first to respond.
“While we’re still waiting for more information regarding the shooter; his motive; the weapons he used … I don’t need to wait another minute, let alone an hour, to take commonsense steps,” Biden concluded. “… We can ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in this country once again. I got that done when I was a senator. It passed. It was law for the longest time, and it brought down these mass killings. We should do it again.
“We can close the loopholes in our background check system, including the ‘Charleston loophole,’” he added. “That’s one of the best tools we have right now to prevent gun violence... This is not and should not be a partisan issue; this is an American issue. It will save lives — American lives — and we have to act. We should also ban assault weapons in the process.”
Biden elsewhere issued a proclamation ahead of Education and Sharing Day, USA, tomorrow, with a message befitting the grief.
“If the isolation and loss of the last year has taught us anything, it is just how much we need each other, how intertwined our lives are, and how deeply we crave conversation, connection, and community,” he said via statement. “We are at our best when we work together and help our neighbors, whether down the road or around the world.”