Sharjah24 - AFP: President Joe Biden shared in the grief of Asian American victims of a shooting spree on Tuesday in a suburb of Los Angeles. He also used his little power to strengthen gun laws while urging Congress to "do something substantial."
A somber president addressed the immigrant community in Monterey Park, praising their resilience and recalling characteristics of each of the 11 people slaughtered in January during Lunar New Year celebrations.
He recalled the strength of a loving "matriarch," a karaoke singing grandmother, and the 72-year-old manager and dance teacher at the Star Ballroom where the massacre occurred. Applause broke out when Biden heralded Brandon Tsay, the 26-year-old who wrestled the gun from the shooter before he could open fire at a second ballroom.
"He found the courage to act," Biden said, also getting applause when he highlighted the best picture Oscar for "Everything Everywhere All At Once" -- a sci-fi film centered on a Chinese American family that he said "made history."
Biden then urged Congress, where Republicans have pushed back for decades against stricter gun purchase laws, to take "responsibility" and to clamp down on the hugely popular semi-automatic, military style rifles most often used in mass shootings.
"Ban assault weapons," he urged to cheers from the audience of around 200 people. "Do it now. Enough! Do something. Do something big."
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