During his visit to Uvalde, Texas, President Joe Biden responded to calls to “do something” from residents following last week’s mass shooting at Robb Elementary School.
Biden responded, “We will, we will,” as he entered the presidential limousine.
Onlookers shouted at Biden and Gov. Greg Abbott. One man shouted, “We need change. Our children don’t deserve this.”
During his visit to Texas, Biden met survivors and families of those killed in last week’s mass shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead.
Biden said on Monday he was not in direct talks with Republicans on gun reform legislation, but thought last week's tragedy might prompt some to join Democrats in supporting a bill.
"I've been pretty motivated all along," Biden said. "You know the folks, folks who were victimized there and their families, they spent three hours and forty minutes with me. They waited all that time, and some came two hours early, and the pain is palpable, and I think a lot of it's unnecessary, so I'm gonna continue to push and we'll see how this works."
Several Republican members of Congress have expressed a willingness to look at new gun laws. Some of the proposals being discussed are raising the age to purchase assault weapons, a ban on AR-15-style weapons, closing the gun-show loophole, and implementing red flag laws.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who is not running for reelection this fall, told CNN he is open to a federal ban on AR-15 rifles on Sunday.
"Look, I have opposed a ban, you know, fairly recently. I think I'm open to a ban now. It's going to depend on what it looks like because there's a lot of nuances on what constitutes, you know, certain things," Kinzinger said. "We have to be coming to the table with ways to mitigate 18-year-olds buying these guns and walking into schools -- my side's not doing that. My side is not coming forward with reasonable ways to defend an amendment that we think is very important.”
While Biden did not give public remarks during his stop, he previously said he would look at new gun laws in the wake of the shooting.
"We just, it was really just all about my daughter. You know what I mean?” Vincent Salazar, father of student Layla Salazar, who was among the victims, told CNN. “That's all we talked about and he, you know, he, like I said, they were very gracious, they showed compassion. Yeah. And that's, that's all we were here for, you know what I'm saying? He listened to everything, and we listened to him. He shed some tears; we shed some tears."
Biden also attended Sunday mass and visited a memorial during the visit.
While Biden was in Texas on Sunday, the Justice Department announced it would review law enforcement’s response to the shooting. Police have taken criticism for taking over an hour to confront the gunman.
