US President Joe Biden welcomed crowds to the White House lawn on Monday to show off a new law aimed at reducing gun violence, celebrating “real progress” after years of inaction. But he lamented that the country remains “inundated with weapons of war” — with the 16-day law already overshadowed by yet another horrific mass shooting. The bill, passed after recent gun rampages in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, gradually tightens requirements for young people buying guns, denies firearms to more domestic abusers and helps local authorities temporarily take guns from people which are considered dangerous. But Monday morning’s “celebration” came a week after a gunman in Highland Park, Illinois, killed seven people at an Independence Day parade, a stark reminder of the new law’s limitations in addressing the American phenomenon of mass gun violence. . And it comes as Democratic governors have taken up the mantle of offering outrage at gun violence. Biden hosted hundreds of guests on the South Lawn, including a bipartisan group of lawmakers who created and sponsored the legislation, state and local officials — including Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering — and families of victims and of both mass shootings and everyday gun violence. “Because of your work, your advocacy, your courage, lives will be saved today and tomorrow because of this,” Biden said. “We’re not going to save every life from the epidemic of gun violence,” he added, “But if this law had gone into effect years ago, even in the last year, lives would have been saved.” Still, Biden said, “we live in a country full of weapons of war.” He repeated his call for Congress to pass a federal ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines — or at least require stricter background checks and training before purchases. He also said Congress should pass legislation that would hold gun owners legally responsible if their guns are improperly stored and used to commit violence. He noted that he owns four shotguns and said he keeps them secured at his home. “We can’t just stand by,” Biden said. “With rights come responsibilities. If you own a gun, you have a responsibility to secure it and keep it locked up.” Biden on Saturday invited Americans to share with him via text — a new White House communications strategy — their stories of how they’ve been affected by gun violence, tweeting that “I’m hosting a celebration of the passage of Safe Communities Pretend .” She told some of their stories Monday — of people who suffered gunshot wounds and children who were orphaned. The new law is the most impactful gun violence measure passed by Congress since the now-expired assault weapons ban was enacted in 1993. But gun control advocates — even White House officials — they say it is premature to declare victory. “There’s just not much to celebrate here,” said Igor Volsky, director of the private group Guns Down America. “It’s historic, but it’s also the bare minimum of what Congress should do,” Wolski said. “And as the July 4th shooting reminded us, and there have been so many other gun deaths that have occurred since then, the crisis of gun violence is that much more urgent.” Wolski’s group, along with other advocacy groups, held a news conference Monday outside the White House calling on Biden to create a White House office to address gun violence with a greater sense of urgency. Biden has left gun control policy to his Domestic Policy Council, rather than establishing a special office like the one he opened to address climate change or the gender policy council he launched to promote access to reproductive health. “We have a president who really hasn’t met right now who has chosen to act as a bystander in this matter,” Wolski said. “For some reason, the administration adamantly refuses to have a senior official who can drive this issue across the government.” During his remarks on Monday, Biden was criticized by Manuel Oliver, whose son Joaquin was killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Biden briefly paused his speech and asked a shouting Oliver to sit down, before adding, “Let him talk, let him talk,” as he was escorted out of the event. The president signed the bipartisan gun bill into law on June 25, calling it a “historic achievement” at the time. On Monday, Biden said the passage of the law should be a call to further action. “Will we match thoughts and prayers with action?” Biden asked. “I say yes. And that’s what we’re doing here today.” On Friday, Biden responded to the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, noting how the shooting had shocked people in Japan. The country has a remarkably low incidence of gun violence compared to the US, which has experienced thousands of gun deaths already this year. Most of the new law’s $13 billion in spending will be used to boost mental health programs and for schools that have been targeted by shooters in Newtown, Connecticut and Parkland. The law was the product of weeks of closed-door negotiations by a bipartisan group of senators who emerged with a compromise. It does not include much tighter restrictions that Democrats and Biden have long advocated, such as a ban on assault weapons and background checks for all gun transactions. The prospects for any further congressional action this year are slim.
