Vice President Kamala Harris toured the still bloody and bullet-riddled classroom building in Parkland, Florida, where a gunman killed 14 students and three staff members in 2018 in 2018, on Saturday and used the somber backdrop to announce a new federal resource center and call for tougher enforcement of gun law.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School’s freshman building was preserved as evidence in criminal proceedings and is scheduled to be demolished this summer. For now, it remains a memorial to one of the most shocking mass shootings in United States history.
In her remarks following her tour and meeting for more than an hour with family members of the attack victims, Ms. Harris said the experience was compelling.
“Through the courage and call to action of these families, let us find what they have been through as a kind of motivation and inspiration for all of us,” she said.
“This school will soon be demolished,” the vice president added. “But the memory of it will never be erased.”
Ms Harris said the attack, carried out by a former student with a history of mental health and behavioral problems, should prompt officials across the country to adopt local red flag laws. These allow courts to temporarily confiscate firearms and other dangerous weapons if they believe a person may pose a danger to themselves or others. The Parkland shooter bought his gun legally.
In her remarks, Ms. Harris announced the creation of the National Extreme Risk Protection Order Resource Center, which White House officials said will provide training and technical assistance to states in implementing their warning laws.
“Red flag laws are simply intended to provide communities with a vehicle to share information about concerns about a person’s potential danger or cry for help and a place to share,” she said.
In her brief remarks, Ms. Harris said that only 21 states had passed critical legislation and that only six of them had accepted the Biden administration’s offer to provide funding to help with implementation.
“I ask the others: ‘Come over. “We have some resources for you to help you implement the work you’ve done,” she said.
Ms. Harris’ visit to the school is part of the administration’s broader effort to strengthen gun control measures as the United States continues to suffer regular episodes of devastating gun violence, sometimes targeting young people in schools.
In 2022, President Biden signed the first significant federal gun control measure in decades. The law expanded the background check system for potential gun buyers under age 21, gave authorities up to 10 business days to review juvenile medical and mental health records, and provided millions of dollars for states to fund intervention programs.
But the shootings have continued at an alarming pace since then. Mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, left scores of people dead; Monterey Park, California; Louisville, Ky.; Hollywood, Florida; and many other cities across the country.
Ms Harris said that needed to change. But she expressed her determination to continue fighting political gridlock in Washington, where Republicans and some Democrats on Capitol Hill have long blocked more aggressive measures, such as a ban on assault weapons that are often used in the deadliest mass shootings.
“I will continue to advocate for this,” she said. “Now, what do we need to do in terms of universal background checks, an assault weapons ban, what we need to continue to do to diagnose and treat trauma in our communities.”
Reporters were not allowed to accompany Ms. Harris on her tour of the classroom building where the attacks occurred or to hear her conversations with families.
Previous descriptions of the building still included blood stains from the victims on the walls, bullet-shattered glass on the floor and scattered books, papers and other school supplies as they were on that grim day.
Jurors in the trial of Nikolas Cruz, the convicted gunman, were taken on a tour of the building in the summer of 2022 as they deliberated on his punishment. (He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.)
The school district later announced it would demolish the building.
“Broward County Public Schools made this decision in consultation with health and safety experts and out of concern for the well-being of students and staff on campus,” officials said in a statement at the time. “As we continue to heal, we remain steadfast in our commitment to supporting the Marjory Stoneman Douglas community.”
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2024-03-23 21:43:43
www.nytimes.com