Biden marks five years since Parkland shooting with call for stronger gun laws
Haisten Willis
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President Joe Biden marked five years since the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, with a statement announcing new “red flag” programs and calling for stronger gun control measures.
The 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School left 17 dead and 17 injured and sparked calls for reforms over access to firearms in its wake. Biden echoed those calls in a prepared statement released Tuesday afternoon.
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“In the years since [Parkland], more communities have been impacted by gun violence, but we have also made progress on gun safety laws,” Biden said. “I brought together Democrats and Republicans to pass the first significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.”
That act was passed in the wake of another school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and at the urging of Uvalde native film star Matthew McConaughey.
But the president has consistently called for further action, including the reintroduction of an “assault weapons ban” that was in effect from 1994 to 2004 and the creation of red flag programs.
“I have long championed ‘red flag’ laws, also known as extreme risk protection orders, which could potentially have stopped shooters in Parkland and other tragedies,” he said. “These laws allow family members, healthcare providers, school officials, and law enforcement officers to seek a court determination that a person is a danger to themselves or others, and then temporarily prevent that person from accessing a firearm.”
But those laws, he added, only work if they are used.
The Justice Department has been awarded more than $231 million for the creation of projects including red flag programs and mental health and substance use treatment courts, according to Biden’s statement, which he said will reduce gun violence and save lives.
The Parkland shooter had a history of disturbing behavior that was not addressed in time to prevent the tragedy, which led to a greater push for red flag laws.
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However, Biden also continues to push for other reforms as well.
“While today’s announcement will make communities safer, we have more work to do,” Biden said. “I once again call on Congress to enact commonsense gun law reforms, including requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers who knowingly put weapons of war on our streets.”