Biden on Uvalde school shooting: ‘Why are we willing to live with this carnage?'
Delivering remarks at the White House after the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting that killed at least 18 children, President Biden noted that mass shootings rarely happen in other countries. “Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen?” he asked, and called on Americans to push their elected officials to take action on gun violence.
Video Transcript
JOE BIDEN: I just got off a trip from Asia meeting with Asian leaders. And I learned of this while I was on the aircraft. And what struck me on that 17-hour flight-- what struck me was these kinds of mass shootings rarely happen anywhere else in the world. Why?
They have mental health problems. They have domestic disputes in other countries. They have people who are lost. But these kinds of mass shootings never happen with the kind of frequency they happen in America. Why?
Why are we willing to live with this carnage. Why do we keep letting this happen? Where in God's name is our backbone to have the courage to deal with and stand up to the lobbies?
It's time to turn this pain into action. For every parent, for every citizen in this country. We have to make it clear to every elected official in this country, it's time to act.
It's time for those who obstruct or delay or block the common sense gun laws-- we need to let you know that we will not forget. We can do so much more. We have to do more.
