Biden Calls for Assault Weapons Ban After Nashville School Shooting, But First Jokes About Ice Cream

(CNSNews.com) – A female gunman shot and killed six people, including three children, at a private Christian school in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday.

The 28-year-old alleged female shooter, who is believed to be a former student of the Covenant School, was carrying two AK-47s and a pistol. She was later killed by police.

President Biden called on Congress to ban assault weapons during the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Women Summit at the White House. Before mentioning the shooting, though, Biden cracked jokes about ice cream.

“My name is Joe Biden. I’m Dr. Jill Biden’s husband, and I enjoy ice cream, chocolate chip. I came down because it was chocolate chip ice cream. By the way, I have a whole refrigerator full upstairs. You think I’m kidding. I’m not,” he said.

Speaking about the shooting, Biden said, “I just want to speak very briefly about the school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee. You know, Ben and I have been doing this our whole career it seems, and it’s just sick. You know we’re still gathering the facts of what happened and why, and we do know that as of now, there are a number of people who did not make it, including children.”

“It’s heartbreaking, a family’s worst nightmare, and I want to commend the police who responded incredibly swiftly within minutes and the danger. We’re monitoring the situation really closely, Ben, as you know, and we have to do more to stop gun violence. It’s ripping our communities apart, ripping a soulless nation, ripping at the very soul of the nation,” he said. 

“We have to do more to protect our schools so they aren’t turned into prisons. You know, the shooter in this situation reportedly had two assault weapons and a pistol – two AK-47s. So I call on Congress again to pass my assault weapons ban. It’s about time that we begin to make some more progress, but there’s more to learn, but I just wanted to send my concern and hearts out to so many parents out there,” the president said.

“I’ve been to so many of these sights. It’s been those, virtually every one, and one of the things you folks should – I know you do know, but what you should focus on. You know, just like when in the military my son was in Iraq for your other places, you have so many members of the military coming back with post traumatic stress after witnessing the violence and participating,” he said.

“For these children. These teachers. You should be focusing on their mental health as well, and so I’m grateful anyway. Sorry to start off that way, but I couldn’t begin without acknowledging what happened,” Biden said.

Prior to the president’s speech at the SBA event, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre addressed the tragedy and blamed Republicans for not passing an assault weapons ban or legislation to close gun background check loopholes.

So we’re seeing the heartbreaking news of another shooting of innocent schoolchildren this time in Nashville, Tennessee. The president has been briefed on the situation, and our team is in contact with DOJ and local officials about what is known so far. We want to express the president’s appreciation for the first responders and prayers for all the families affected by this shooting.

While we don’t know yet all the details in this latest tragic shooting, we know that too often our schools and communities are being devastated by gun violence. Schools should be safe spaces for our kids to grow and learn and for our educators to teach. 

As you all know, President Biden has taken more action than any president in history on gun safety as nearly two dozen actions including the executive order he just signed last night – or this month, pardon me – to the bipartisan Safer Communities Act legislation he signed into law after the tragedies in Uvalde and Buffalo.

He also believes it’s not enough. We must do more, and he wants Congress to act, because enough is enough. In his state of the union, the president called on Congress to do something to stop the epidemic of gun violence tearing families apart, tearing communities apart. 

How many more children have to be murdered before Republicans in Congress will step up and act to pass the assault weapons ban, to close loopholes in our background check system or to require the safe storage of guns?

We need to do something. Once again, the president calls on Congress to do something before another child is senselessly killed in a horrible act of gun violence. Again, we need to do something.

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