After 21-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa was arrested in connection to a fatal shooting in Colorado, President Joe Biden (D) expressed his desire to use an executive order to issue an assault weapons ban. He called on the Senate to issue a ban and to close any background check loopholes, arguing that these would be “common-sense steps that will save lives in the future.”
In response, a number of Florida Democrats are championing the call, specifically Florida Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) and Ted Deutch (D) took to Twitter to express their thoughts on how lawmakers should respond to the recent shootings that have occurred.
My heart breaks for the ten families who have become just the latest to lose a loved one to gun violence. It’s heartbreaking that a “return to normal” in America means a return to regular mass shootings. We need gun reform, and we need it now.https://t.co/RWOqZkNguk
— Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (@RepDWStweets) March 23, 2021
Saying that “we must do more to help prevent tragedies,” Wasserman Schultz affirmed that “inaction is not an option.”
“This is not a coincidence,” she expressed, adding that “assault weapons do not belong on our streets.”
Listing a number of fatal shootings that have occurred across the United States, she informed her followers that details show “the tragedy in Colorado was made possible by a military-style assault weapon.”
Rep. Deutch echoed her remarks, listing a number of decisions that lawmakers should come to an agreement on, which includes “universal background checks," banning "high-capacity magazines," implementing "red flag laws," putting an end to "gun trafficking," removing "weapons of war off our streets," and putting a stop to "gun industry immunity."
Deutch urged President Biden to unilaterally act if necessary.
Universal background checks.
We must act now.
Ban high-capacity magazines.
We must act now.
Red flag laws.
We must act now.
Stop gun trafficking.
We must act now.
Weapons of war off our streets.
We must act now.
End gun industry immunity.
We must act now.
It’s already too late.— Rep. Ted Deutch (@RepTedDeutch) March 23, 2021
"We've been looking forward to so many ways we could return to normal, to the way things were before the pandemic," said Deutch. However, "mass shootings were not what anyone had in mind."
Both President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris said that they will leave it up to Congress, but said that signing an executive order to impose sweeping gun restrictions was still on the table.
