Kensington resident attends White House celebration of new bi-partisan gun law
WASHINGTON (WPVI) -- President Joe Biden welcomed a crowd to the White House lawn Monday to showcase a new law meant to reduce gun violence, celebrating "real progress" after years of inaction. But he also lamented the country remains "awash in weapons of war" - with the 16-day-old law already overshadowed by yet another horrific mass shooting.
The bill, passed after recent gun rampages in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, incrementally toughens requirements for young people buying guns, denies firearms to more domestic abusers and helps local authorities temporarily take weapons from people judged to be dangerous.
Biden hosted hundreds of guests on the South Lawn, including a bipartisan group of lawmakers who crafted and supported the legislation, state and local officials - including Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering - and the families of victims of both mass shootings and everyday gun violence.
"Because of your work, your advocacy, your courage, lives will be saved today and tomorrow because of this," Biden said.
MORE: Biden signs most sweeping gun violence bill in decades, says 'lives will be saved'
Kensington resident Rosalind Pichardo attended Monday's celebration.
Her organization, Operation Save Our City, distributes Narcan and gun locks, and she's trained hundreds of people on how to use tourniquets to keep pace with the undercurrent of crime in Philadelphia.
"It means that people are listening to us. It means that people are aware that this is happening and that we can no longer turn a blind eye," said Pichardo.
The new law is the the most impactful firearms-violence measure Congress has approved since enacting a now-expired assault weapons ban in 1993.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
