10 things you need to know today: February 15, 2021

Biden urges Congress to pass gun-law reform, senators call for a commission to investigate Capitol riot, and more

Biden leaves the White House
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1. Biden calls for reforming gun laws on anniversary of Parkland shooting

President Biden on Sunday marked the third anniversary of the deadly Parkland, Florida, school shooting by urging Congress to pass "commonsense gun law reforms" to help curb an "epidemic of gun violence." Biden called for requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers responsible for making "weapons of war" widely available. "This administration will not wait for the next mass shooting to heed that call," Biden said in a statement. "We will take action to end our epidemic of gun violence and make our schools and communities safer." The Parkland shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School left 17 people dead. Many of the survivors have since spoke out against gun violence.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.