good evening fellow americans
i had hoped
when i became president i would not have
to do this
again
another massacre
uvalde texas
an elementary school
beautiful
innocent
second third fourth graders
and how many scores of little children
who witness what happened
see their friends die
as if they're on a battlefield for god's
sake
they'll live with the rest of their
lives
there's a lot we don't know yet
there's a lot we do know
the parents who will never see their
child again
never have them jump in bed and cuddle
with them
parents will never be the same
to lose a child
it's like having a piece of your soul
ripped away
there's a hollowness in your chest you
feel like you're being sucked into it
and never going to be able to get out
suffocating
it's never quite the same
it's a feeling shared by the siblings
and the grandparents and the family
members and the community that's left
behind
scripture says
jill and i have talked about this in
different contexts another context
the lord
is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the christian spirit
so many crushed spirits
so tonight
i ask the nation to pray for them
give the parents and siblings the
strength
and the darkness they feel right now
as a nation we have to ask when in god's
name
are we going to stand up to the gun
lobby
when in god's name
we do we all know in our gut needs to be
done it's been 340
3448 days
10 years since i stood up at
a high school in connecticut a grade
school in connecticut
or another gunman massacred 26 people
including 20 first graders at sandy hook
elementary school
since then
there have been over 900 incidents
of gunfire reported on school grounds
marjory stoneman douglas high school in
parkland florida
santa fe high school in texas
oxford high school in michigan
list goes on and on and the list grows
when it include mass shootings at places
like movie theaters houses of worship
as we saw just 10 days ago the grocery
store in buffalo new york
i am sick and tired of it
we have to act
and don't tell me
we can't have an impact on this carnage
i spent my career as a senator and a
vice president
working to pass common sense gun laws
we can't it won't prevent every tragedy
but we know they work
and have positive impact when we pass
the assault weapons ban
mass shootings went down
when the law expired mass shootings
tripled
the idea that an 18 year old kid
can walk into a gun store and buy two
assault weapons
it's just wrong
what in god's name do you need a solvent
for except to kill someone
deer aren't running through the
forest with kevlar vests on for god's
sake
it's just sick
and the gun manufacturers have spent two
decades aggressively marking assault
weapons which make them the most and
largest prophet
for god's sake we have to have the
courage to stand up to the industry
here's what else i know most americans
support common sense laws common sense
gun laws
i just got off
a trip from asia meeting with
asian leaders
and i learned of this while i was on the
aircraft
and what struck me
on that
17-hour flight
what struck me
was these kinds of mass shootings rarely
happen anywhere else in the world
why
they have mental health problems
they have domestic disputes in other
countries
they have people who are lost
but these kinds of masculinities never
happen with the kind of frequency that
happened in america why
why are we willing to live with this
carnage
why don't we keep letting this happen
where in god's name is our backbone
to have the courage to deal with and
stand up to the lobbies
it's a time to turn this pain into
action
for every parent for every citizen in
this country
we have to make it clear to every
elected official in this country it's
time to
act it's time for those who obstruct or
delay
or block the common sense gun laws we
need to let you know
that we will not forget
we can do so much more
we have to do more
our prayer tonight
with those parents
lying in bed and trying to figure out
will i be able to sleep again
what do i say to my other children
what happens tomorrow
god bless the loss of innocent life on
this sad day
and may the lord be near the
brokenhearted
and save those
crushed in spirit
because they're going to need a lot of
help
a lot of our prayers
god love you
will you go to texas sir
sir will you go to texas
[Music]
you