Biden's gun speech interrupted by father of Parkland victim urging him to 'do more'
President Biden was interrupted during a speech on Monday afternoon, when the father of a victim of the 2018 Parkland, Fla. mass shooting stood up and urged the president to "do more" to combat gun violence.
The president's planned address was in commemoration of the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, "the first major gun legislation in more than a decade," Politico reports. Among other provisions, the law closes the so-called "boyfriend loophole" and enhances background checks.
As Biden spoke on the White House's South Lawn, Manuel Oliver, father to Parkland victim Joaquin Oliver, shouted, "You have to do more!" He also called on Biden to open some sort of gun control prevention office in the White House, to which Biden replied, "We have one."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Initially, when Oliver first began shouting, Biden told him to "sit down. You'll hear what I have to say." But as the moment continued, and what appeared to be a security official approached Oliver, Biden urged the official to "let him talk. Let him talk."
Oliver was ultimately escorted out of the event.
"This legislation is real progress but more has to be done," Biden then went on. "The provision of this new legislation is going to save lives and it's proof that today's politics we can come together on a bipartisan basis and get important things done. Even on an issue as tough as guns."
Watch the moment below:
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
The UK’s ‘wallaby boom’Under the Radar The Australian marsupial has ‘colonised’ the Isle of Man and is now making regular appearances on the UK mainland
-
Fast food is no longer affordable to low-income AmericansThe explainer Cheap meals are getting farther out of reach
-
‘The money to fix this problem already exists’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
-
Trump pivots on Epstein vote amid GOP defectionsSpeed Read The president said House Republicans should vote on a forced release of the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein files
-
Trump DOJ sues to block California redistrictingSpeed Read California’s new congressional map was drawn by Democrats to flip Republican-held House seats
