President Biden delivered brief comments this evening on today’s shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The shooter, reported to be 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, allegedly shot his grandmother before opening fire in the school, killing 18 children and three adults. Ramos was reportedly shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent who was wounded in an exchange of gunfire with the shooter.
In his remarks, Biden hit the same notes he’s hit time and time again. After stating that he’d hoped he’d never have to do this again and calling for prayers for the family members of those who were killed and wounded, he proclaimed that “There’s a lot we don’t know yet [about the Uvalde shooting], but there’s a lot that we do.”
He said, “As a nation, we have to ask when in God’s name we’ll stand up to the gun lobby, and do what needs to be done?” He then fell back on the same talking points he’s used to inveigh against gun makers for years.
“What do you need an ‘assault weapon’ for except to kill people? There are no deer running around in Kevlar vests. But gun makers aggressively market them because they make them the most profit.”
To be clear, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has reported that the Uvalde shooter used “a handgun and possibly a rifle.”
After saying that he wondered why similar shootings don’t happen with the same frequency in other countries, Biden asked, “Why do we keep letting this happen? Where is our backbone to stand up the the lobbies?”
Biden then said that “We have to make it clear to every elected official that it’s time to act. And to let those who block common sense gun laws know that we won’t forget.”
He then closed with a call for prayers “for those parents lying in bed, wondering if they’ll be able to sleep again, what to say to other children, what will happen tomorrow.”
While delivered under the worst possible circumstances, Biden’s comments tonight weren’t substantially different from those he’s delivered dozens of times before, with the same tropes, talking points, and misinformation sprinkled in.
Because he said nothing new, they’re unlikely to satisfy those on the anti-gun left who have used similar horrific shootings to push their agenda of stricter gun control laws…none of which would have done anything to prevent the shooting in Uvalde today, or the Buffalo grocery store, or the Taiwanese church in Orange County.
“Why are we here?” Sen. Murphy presses fellow senators in emotional speech after Texas elementary school shooting.
“I am here on this floor, to beg, to literally get down on my hands and knees and beg my colleagues … find a way to pass laws that make this less likely.” pic.twitter.com/ts4VnbTJRH
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) May 24, 2022
