President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris called for more government action to address gun violence after a shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, reportedly left three people dead, including the shooter, and several others injured.
Biden called for Congress to take action while the vice president suggested several policy reforms to be passed at the federal and state levels. Both expressed their sympathy and condolences over the shooting.
“Today, families in Madison, Wisconsin, are grieving the loss of those who were killed and wounded at Abundant Life Christian School,” Biden said. It’s shocking and unconscionable. We need Congress to act. Now.”
“From Newtown to Uvalde, Parkland to Madison, to so many other shootings that don’t receive attention – it is unacceptable that we are unable to protect our children from this scourge of gun violence,” Biden added. “We cannot continue to accept it as normal. Every child deserves to feel safe in their classroom. Students across our country should be learning how to read and write – not having to learn how to duck and cover.”
Meanwhile, Harris echoed similar sentiments. She referenced the Sandy Hook school shooting from 2012 as a reflection point to express disappointment that school shootings are still happening in the country 12 years later.
“Over the weekend, our nation paused to remember the innocent children and brave educators who were taken from us 12 years ago when someone armed with a weapon of war walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT,” Harris said. “Today, senseless gun violence has once again visited our classrooms as students and teachers in Madison, WI., had their last week of school before Christmas break tragically interrupted by a deadly shooting.”
“While we have made necessary progress together over the last four years, including through the most significant gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years and our first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, there is more work to be done to ensure that every person has the freedom to live safe from the horror of gun violence,” Harris noted. “Congress and state legislatures must make background checks universal, pass red flag and safe storage laws, and ban assault weapons. These commonsense solutions will save lives and make our children and communities safer.”
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Law enforcement officials identified Natalie Rupnow, a 15-year-old female student who attended the school. She used a 9mm pistol to carry out the attack, according to authorities.
The Gun Control Act is a federal law that prohibits anyone under the age of 18 from legally owning a firearm. Wisconsin state law also restricts anyone under 18 from legally owning a gun.
