Within hours after the mass shooting in Nashville on March 27, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden voiced their condolences and dismay at the continuing assault-weapon gun violence. “We have to do more to stop gun violence,” the president said, after praising the police who responded to the shooting that left three children, three adults, and the shooter dead.
“We have to do more to protect our schools so they’re not turned into prisons,” he added. “It’s ripping our communities apart, ripping the soul of this nation.”
The incident shored up Biden’s call for the ban on assault weapons, two of which, along with a handgun, were used by the 28-year-old female as she entered the side door of the Covenant School, a private elementary school, and began a barrage of shots before she was killed.
First Lady Biden, who teaches at a northern Virginia community college, echoed the president’s comments during an earlier conference of city leaders. “I am truly without words,” she said. “Our children deserve better. We stand, all of us, we stand with Nashville in prayer.”
Anything being done legislatively or through Congress remains a question between the president and lawmakers, particularly Republicans, who have been less than cooperative on an initiative to ban assault weapons.
Earlier this month, Biden signed a background check order during a visit to Monterey Park in California, where a gunman killed 11 people in January during Lunar New Year celebrations. But it’s unlikely the Republicans will pass any other action on the matter.
Meanwhile, the investigation continues in Nashville to further identify the shooter and what may have been her motive. It’s not clear if there were others injured in the incident.