WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden was behind the podium Monday to tout a new law aimed at reducing gun violence -- the first major gun safety law in nearly three decades.
But during his remarks at the White House, Biden was interrupted by Manuel Oliver, whose son Joaquin was killed in the 2018 Parkland school shooting.
“Make no mistake ... sit down and hear what I have to say,” Biden said.
“I try to tell you this for years,” Oliver responded.
“We have one. Let me finish my comment,” Biden said.
“Let him talk. Let him talk,” he added as Oliver was about to be escorted away. “Because make no mistake about it, this legislation is real progress but more has to be done.”
“Why did you interrupt President Biden?” Local 10 D.C. Bureau Chief Ben Kennedy asked Oliver after the president’s speech.
“I thought it was the right moment to repeat to the president what we need,” Oliver said.
Oliver says the nation needs a national office of gun violence prevention and those at a news conference outside the White House along Pennsylvania Avenue called on the commander-in-chief to open the office.
“This is an act he can do himself. He don’t need legislators getting involved -- this is his call,” Oliver said.
The bipartisan Safer Communities Act was passed after recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas.
“This is on the minds of all Americans,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said. “People are fearful. We need to take action.”