May 24 (UPI) — President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will host a ceremony at the White House Wednesday to mark the one-year anniversary of the massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
The event will take place at 3:30 p.m. with Biden giving remarks to remember the victims and calling on Congress to take action to address the epidemic of gun violence in America.
The shooting on May 24, 2022, killed 21 people, including 19 children, while leaving 17 others injured.
“The entire community is still mourning, they are in the president’s prayers,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a press briefing Tuesday.
The 18-year-old gunman, Salvador Ramos, was shot dead by Border Patrol officers, while the acting police chief, Lt. Mariano Pargas, resigned in November after facing widespread criticism for the department’s delayed response as the shooting unfolded.
The Uvalde school district also suspended its entire police force for its failures and requested more Texas Department of Public Safety troopers to be stationed on school grounds.
The bloodshed in Uvalde happened more than a week after another gunman shot and killed 10 people inside a Buffalo, N.Y., supermarket as part of a premeditated attack that targeted Black people.
The shootings raised calls for increased gun reforms while Biden put pressure on Congress in a USA Today op-ed calling for a nationwide ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines while arguing it should be mandatory for gun owners to securely store their firearms.
Biden also called for background checks on all gun sales and urged lawmakers to repeal liability immunity for the gun industry.
“I have already taken more executive action to reduce gun violence than any other president, and I will continue to pursue every legal and effective action,” Biden wrote.
Weeks later, Biden signed the $13 billion Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which enhanced background checks for gun buyers under age 21 and made it a federal crime to obtain a firearm on the black market.
The measure also provided millions of dollars for mental health, school safety, crisis intervention programs and incentives for states to include juvenile records in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
“While he’s very appreciative of what Congress was able to do, there’s so much more to be done,” Jean-Pierre said. “We need to see Congress do something more, do more, put forward some common sense gun reform. That’s what these families deserve. That’s what they should be able to see.”
Earlier this month, Biden said he would seek to maximize more than a dozen actions outlined in the new gun safety law. Specifically, Biden said the Justice Department would work closely with states to ensure that people younger than 21 face stricter regulations when purchasing guns.
Biden has previously pushed for a nationwide ban on assault weapons and called for ending immunity from liability for the gun industry.