Joe Biden calls on Congress for comprehensive reform of gun sales laws on anniversary of Parkland massacre

The president of the United States, Joe biden, asked Congress this Sunday to approve a comprehensive reform of firearms possession laws, on the third anniversary of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in which 14 students and three teachers died.

In a statement issued by the White House, Biden advocated the application of “common sense laws” that include “the requirement to conduct background checks on all arms sales, the ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and the removal of immunity for gun manufacturers who knowingly place weapons of war in our streets ”.

President He assured that his administration “will not wait for the next massacre” to meet the demands of families. “We will take action to end our epidemic of gun violence and make our schools and communities safer,” he pledged.

The United States is the country with the most civilian weapons per capita in the world, with 120.5 per 100 inhabitants, and the only country with more than one per person.

The most recent survey by consulting firm Gallup, conducted last October, found that 57% of Americans support tighter legal controls, while 34% believe they should be kept as is. The number of support for stricter standards has remained above 45% over the past decade.

However, members of Congress face harsh lobbying, especially from the National Rifle Association (NRA), which is organizing fundraising for a large number of Republican candidates. Currently, Democrats have a majority in both houses, so they can try to keep one of the party’s most repeated promises.

President Biden dedicated the remainder of his statement to the memory of those killed in the February 14, 2018 massacre by Nikolas Cruz at the American school. “For three years now, families in Parkland have been spending birthdays and vacations without loved ones. They missed the experience of sending their children to college or seeing them at their first job. Like too many families, they had to bury parts of their souls in the depths of the Earth, ”he lamented.

Biden also recalled that this massacre was not a one-time event. “Many of our citizens, parents, wives, children and friends have known the pain of the loss of a loved one to gun violence,” even more after a year that has marked “a historic increase in gun homicides. fire in America “.

For all this, Biden He called on Congress to apply this reform because “we owe it to all we have lost”. “It is time to act,” he concluded.

Family members of the Parkland victims have also been harassed in recent months by members of the Q Anon cult, who have been spreading conspiracy theories that cast doubt on the truth of the tragedy.

For years, the United States has seen mass killings, regularly in schools, malls, businesses, and places of worship.

Despite the unprecedented mobilization of high school students for tighter control of gun sales, then President Donald Trump refused to consider banning assault rifles.

(With information from Europa Press and AFP)

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