(PresidentialHill.com)- In the wake of the mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood, President Joe Biden shared his condolences with the families and friends of those who were killed while also preaching for more gun control.
On Tuesday, Biden spoke to a crowd saying the U.S. has to “reject the lie” of “replacement theory” that was being touted by the person who shot and killed 10 people over the weekend.
The president said that America’s diversity was its strength, not a weakness, warning the U.S. has to not be distorted by a “hateful minority.” He continued:
“The American experiment in democracy is in danger like it hasn’t been in my lifetime. It’s in danger this hour. Hate and fear being given too much oxygen by those who pretend to love America but who don’t understand America.
“In America, evil will not win, I promise you. Hate will not prevail. White supremacy will not have the last word.”
The president then put the blame on the shooting in Buffalo and similar racist-fueled attacks on the “wackos” who commit these hate crimes and also people who “fill their brains with false ideas.”
Before the speech, Biden and First Lady Jill Biden paid respects at a memorial that was set up near the set where the shooting occurred, the Tops supermarket. He then said:
“Jill and I have come to stand with you, and to the families, we have come to grieve with you. Now’s the time for people of all races, from every background, to speak up as a majority … and reject white supremacy.”
The replacement theory that the Buffalo shooter subscribed to started in white nationalist circles, but has since become more mainstream. It surmises that white people and the influence that they have in the country is being “replaced” by minorities through practices of immigration and then having more babies.
Biden’s support was welcomed by the community, but they also want him to do more. As NAACP President Derrick Johnson said of Biden:
“It’s important for him to show up for the families and the community and express his condolences. But we’re more concerned about preventing this from happening in the future.”
Along those lines, Biden continued to tout his plan to try to impose stricter gun regulations in the country. He doesn’t have an easy path to do so, though, since he’s already faced opposition from Republicans in the Senate when he tried in the past.
The president was asked directly about gun control when he arrived at the airport, and he responded:
“It’s going to be very difficult … I’m not going to give up trying.”
The legal access to high-powered rifles is one part of the problem, gun control activists say, and the other part is the ability for people to modify those guns and then by high-powered automatic ammo.
They believe that focusing on gun control will help stop the huge increase in mass shootings that the U.S. has experienced over the last few years — some of which have been racially motivated.
