Biden re-ups calls for gun safety reforms after Alabama and Louisville shootings

Ryan King

April 16, 05:37 PM April 16, 05:37 PM

President Joe Biden once again dusted off his entreaties for gun safety reforms in the wake of the Alabama birthday and Kentucky park shootings.

"Jill and I are praying for their families, and for the many others injured and fighting for their lives in the wake of this weekend’s gun violence," Biden said in a statement. "Guns are the leading killer of children in America, and the numbers are rising – not declining. This is outrageous and unacceptable."

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On Saturday evening, four individuals were killed and roughly 15 were injured at a Sweet 16 birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama. Many of the victims are undergoing treatment for their injuries and an investigation remains ongoing, police said.

Meanwhile, in Louisville, Kentucky, two were killed and four others were injured at near Chickasaw Park after a gunman opened fire into a crowd Saturday evening. Police indicated the suspect remains at large. That shooting came on the heels of an Old National Bank shooting last week that left five dead.

"What has our nation come to when children cannot attend a birthday party without fear? When parents have to worry every time their kids walk out the door to school, to the movie theater, or to the park?" Biden asked.

Late last month, a gunman killed three children and three adults at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. Following that attack, which killed a friend of his wife, Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) signed an executive order to bolster background checks. Biden made sure to praise him for taking that action.

"I commend Tennessee Governor Bill Lee for signing an Executive Order to expand background checks and calling on the Tennessee statehouse to pass a red flag law. I hope more Republican officials will follow suit and take action," Biden said.

Biden also chastised Republican leaders for standing "alongside the NRA in a race to the bottom on dangerous laws that further erode gun safety." Top Republicans attended the recent National Rifle Association conference in Indianapolis. Biden then quickly outlines some of the specific reforms he'd like Congress to take up.

"It is within Congress’ power to require safe storage of firearms, require background checks for all gun sales, eliminate gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability, and ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines – and this should happen without delay," Biden said.

Nancy Mace blasts GOP for 'not offering any type of solution to reduce gun violence'

Ryan King

April 16, 12:02 PM April 16, 12:02 PM

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) took on her own party for failing to propose solutions for curtailing the epidemic of gun violence occurring throughout the nation.

"We've not learned anything from the midterm elections if we're going to sit here on our hands silently, not offering any type of solution to reduce gun violence in our country. And it's not about gun control," Mace said on WHD News Sunday.

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Over recent weeks, there have been multiple mass shootings, including one that left five dead at a Louisville bank, the Covenant school shooting, which left three children and three adults dead, and most recently, a shooting in which four people were killed at a birthday party in Alabama.

The congresswoman argued that there are plenty of solutions "besides offering prayers and silence." She cited efforts to bolster background checks as an example.

"We have all these databases at the federal and state level that are all over the place. There's not one piece of software where you can merge all that information together to know in 60 seconds whether or not this is a bad guy trying to buy a gun," Mace suggested. "It doesn't have to be complicated, but we need to show leadership."

Mace also recalled how she and her children were a "mile away down the road" from a mass shooting in South Carolina that transpired on Good Friday.

"I'm a constitutional conservative, but I'll tell you, Shannon, about a week ago, my kids and I were a mile away from a mass shooting in South Carolina where six people were shot. We saw the immediate aftermath," Mace recalled. "They said, 'Hey, Mommy, where is the Amber Alert to let us know that we're near a mass shooting and maybe we should have taken cover.'"

Mace is no stranger to bucking her party, particularly on hot-button social matters. She recently joined some progressives in urging the Biden administration to ignore a Texas court ruling freezing approval for a pill used to induce abortions.

During the interview, Mace described herself as a "pro-life legislator" who favors "15 to 20 weeks" of gestational restrictions on abortion.

"Republicans haven't won the majority — the popular vote — in years when it comes to the presidency, and that's something we need to work on and do better. And this is an issue that we can win on," Mace added, referring to firearms.