South Florida Democrats back President's call for Congress to pass gun control reform
TALLAHASSEE – South Florida leaders on Capitol Hill are providing insight to CBS4 following President Joe Biden's plea for Congress to pass gun control reform.
Congressman Ted Deutch called Biden's speech on Thursday night powerful. He says the steps Biden outlined for Congress to take are the same measures discussed on Thursday in the House Judiciary Committee.
"The House is going to do it next week," said Deutch about when the House will vote on gun control reform. "Then there will be pressure on the Senate. The president needs to keep leaning in to make this an issue for everybody."
Deutch shared that Biden spoke from the heart to get to the heart of the issue.
"This isn't about taking away rights," said Biden. "This is about protecting children, families, and whole communities."
The president's speech detailed more than 20 mass shootings since 19 children were killed in a school in Uvalde, Texas on May 24.
"Imagine what it's like for so many parents to hug children to hug their children goodbye in the morning and not come back home," said Biden. "Unfortunately, too many people don't have to imagine that at all."
"Should that in itself inspire both the House and the Senate to get something into law," asked CBS4's Joe Gorchow of Deutch.
"We cannot lose sight of the fact that if we don't act, more people are going to continue to die," said Deutch. "It happens almost every day now."
Another shooting occurred Thursday at a funeral in Wisconsin. The day before, a gunman killed four in Tulsa at a hospital.
In a statement to CBS4, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said:
"Democrats have and will continue to pass commonsense gun safety laws supported by the majority of Americans. But until extremist Republicans value shooting victims and our school children more than the gun lobby and their money, they will remain complicit in America's unrelenting gun carnage."
President Biden called to reinstate an assault weapons ban passed in 1994. If not, implement other measures Florida did following the Parkland shooting, from red flag laws to raising the age to 21 to buy a firearm.
"Florida, which is hardly known for being a great progressive center in America, can take these commonsense steps," said Deutch, "Congress certainly ought to be able to do the same thing."
Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson shared with us:
"During a trip to China some years ago, I was fortunate enough to have visited a Chinese school. Towards the end of the tour, I asked the school children if they would like to come to the U.S. to visit and they responded with 'no, we don't want to get shot.' That is how our country is now viewed around the world."
We reached out to Sen. Marco Rubio, Sen. Rick Scott and several Republican members of the House residing in South Florida. Still, none provided us with a comment on gun reform or Biden's speech.
