NEWS'Do More!': Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre Faces Backlash for Calling on Congress to Strengthen Gun Regulations
In the wake of the mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said mass shootings are "not normal" and called on Congress to strengthen gun safety laws.
This led several critics of the President and his administration to attack the 49-year-old press secretary on social media.
Karine Jean-Pierre called on Congress to pass gun regulations.
Speaking at a press briefing on Thursday, October 26, Jean-Pierre highlighted the devastating impact of such violence on families and communities, leaving survivors both physically and mentally scarred.
“While we have made progress since the president signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law, much more — much more — must be done,” she said.
“The president has been clear that executive action alone is just not enough," Pierre continued. “This is not normal. We cannot accept this ... Now is the time to find common ground."
Karine Jean-Pierre shared a statement from the Whitw House.
When asked about the possibility of President Joe Biden visiting Lewiston in the aftermath of the shootings, Jean-Pierre declined to comment.
She stated that the first priority should be to apprehend a suspect.
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Karine Jean-Pierre faced backlash on X.
Jean-Pierre shared a statement from the president on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Once again, our nation is in mourning after yet another senseless and tragic mass shooting," the statement read. "Today, Jill and I are praying for the Americans who’ve lost their lives, for those still in critical care, and for the families, survivors, and community members enduring shock and grief."
Biden also called on Republican lawmakers in Congress to "fulfill their duty to protect the American people."
"Work with us to pass a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, to enact universal background checks, to require safe storage of guns, and end immunity from liability for gun manufacturers," the statement continued. "This is the very least we owe every American who will now bear the scars — physical and mental — of this latest attack."
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The comments underneath the post were flooded with critics on both sides of the political spectrum, with some calling on Biden and his administration to "do more" than just release PR statements and others criticizing them for suggesting any gun reform at all.
One user asked, "When are you guys ever gonna do anything other than basically going 'this is a completely unavoidable tragedy... anyways back to twiddling our f---ing thumbs.'"
Another wrote, "We just saw over a thousand civilians slaughtered in a country that didn’t let most of them own guns to defend their families with many more hurt. I never want to hear about gun control for the rest of my life. The best chance I have vs. a crazed killer is to be armed myself."
A third commented, "If y’all would have let the FBI do their jobs, this man would have been in jail. But they were too busy at Trump's house.
Quotes from Jean-Pierre were obtained by NBC News and X.
