Biden vs. Trump on Gun Violence: Reform or Backtracking from the Status Quo? 

Daily Action
Written By Barbara Isaacman

QUICK READ: Biden’s and Trump’s responses to the Kansas City shooting were starkly different. Biden immediately decried “epidemic” gun violence: “Today’s events should…shock us…into acting. What are we waiting for?” Trump, by contrast, attended a gun rally and bragged that, while president, “nobody took control of our Second Amendment [and] nothing happened.” 


CONTENTS:

BACKGROUND

BACKGROUND:

Crafting a starker difference between Biden’s and Trump’s responses to last week’s Kansas City mass shooting, which left 1 dead and over 39 injured (22 from gunshot wounds), would be impossible. 

President Biden, decrying the “epidemic of gun violence,” asserted “events should move us, shock us, shame us into acting,” asking rhetorically how many more families had to be destroyed before Americans got the gun reforms we needed. He then dared Congress to have the courage to pass an assault weapons ban, limit high-capacity magazines, and strengthen background checks. 

Mere hours after the shooting Trump, not coincidentally, attended a gun rally in South Carolina where he bragged “nobody took control of our Second Amendment [more than me] during [my presidency], nothing happened with our Second Amendment….We will protect innocent life, and we will restore free speech.” Days earlier, he promised, if elected, to roll back all Biden-era gun restrictions. 

Ironically, this tragedy came on the 6th and 1st anniversaries of the Parkland High School and Michigan State University mass shootings. Additionally, the same day, another school shooting occurred in Atlanta. Just 45 days into 2024, there’ve already been more than 45 mass shootings.

Do we want meaningful reforms or backtracking from our devastating status quo? 

ACTION One: Call the Senate.

Script for Oregon Senators

SEN. MERKLEY: Portland office: 503-326-3386 | D.C. office: 202-224-3753

My name is [--] and I'm a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].

Just 45 days into 2024, there’ve already been more than 45 mass shootings, and our rate of firearm-wrought bloodshed far outpaces every other wealthy nation’s. America’s ceaseless violence is an epidemic and must be treated as a national emergency. It is long past time for Congress to enact the meaningful reforms President Biden is seeking, and we demand their immediate passage.

SEN. WYDEN: Portland office: 503-326-7525 | D.C. office: 202-224-5244

My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].

Just 45 days into 2024, there’ve already been more than 45 mass shootings, and our rate of firearm-wrought bloodshed far outpaces every other wealthy nation’s. America’s ceaseless violence is an epidemic and must be treated as a national emergency. It is long past time for Congress to enact the meaningful reforms President Biden is seeking, and we demand their immediate passage.

Script for Republican Senators

D.C switchboard: 202-224-3121

My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], [state], [zip code].

Just 45 days into 2024, there’ve already been more than 45 mass shootings, and our rate of firearm-wrought bloodshed far outpaces every other wealthy nation’s. America’s ceaseless violence is an epidemic and must be treated as a national emergency. It is long past time for Congress to enact the meaningful reforms President Biden is seeking, and we demand their immediate passage.

ACTION TWO: Call the House.

Script for Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01)

Oregon office: 503-469-6010 | DC office: 202-225-0855

My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].

Just 45 days into 2024, there’ve already been more than 45 mass shootings, and our rate of firearm-wrought bloodshed far outpaces every other wealthy nation’s. America’s ceaseless violence is an epidemic and must be treated as a national emergency. It is long past time for Congress to enact the meaningful reforms President Biden is seeking, and we demand their immediate passage.

Script for Cliff Bentz (OR-02)

Medford office: 541-776-4646 | DC office: 202-225-6730

My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].

Just 45 days into 2024, there’ve already been more than 45 mass shootings, and our rate of firearm-wrought bloodshed far outpaces every other wealthy nation’s. America’s ceaseless violence is an epidemic and must be treated as a national emergency. It is long past time for Congress to enact the meaningful reforms President Biden is seeking, and we demand their immediate passage.

Script for Earl Blumenauer (OR-03)

Oregon office: 503-231-2300 | DC office: 202-225-4811

My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].

Just 45 days into 2024, there’ve already been more than 45 mass shootings, and our rate of firearm-wrought bloodshed far outpaces every other wealthy nation’s. America’s ceaseless violence is an epidemic and must be treated as a national emergency. It is long past time for Congress to enact the meaningful reforms President Biden is seeking, and we demand their immediate passage.

Script for Val Hoyle (OR-04)

Eugene office: 541-465-6732 | DC office: 202-225-6416

My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].

Just 45 days into 2024, there’ve already been more than 45 mass shootings, and our rate of firearm-wrought bloodshed far outpaces every other wealthy nation’s. America’s ceaseless violence is an epidemic and must be treated as a national emergency. It is long past time for Congress to enact the meaningful reforms President Biden is seeking, and we demand their immediate passage.

Script for Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05)

Salem office: 503-588-9100 | DC office: 202-225-5711

My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].

Just 45 days into 2024, there’ve already been more than 45 mass shootings, and our rate of firearm-wrought bloodshed far outpaces every other wealthy nation’s. America’s ceaseless violence is an epidemic and must be treated as a national emergency. It is long past time for Congress to enact the meaningful reforms President Biden is seeking, and we demand their immediate passage.

Script for Andrea Salinas (OR-06)

Salem office: 503-385-0906 | DC office: 202-225-5643

My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].

Just 45 days into 2024, there’ve already been more than 45 mass shootings, and our rate of firearm-wrought bloodshed far outpaces every other wealthy nation’s. America’s ceaseless violence is an epidemic and must be treated as a national emergency. It is long past time for Congress to enact the meaningful reforms President Biden is seeking, and we demand their immediate passage.

FURTHER READING

Barbara Isaacman
Previous

DEMS vs. GOP: PROTECTING REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM
Next

GAZA NEEDS HUMANITARIAN AID NOW