Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Friday called for action to combat gun violence while marking the fourth anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla.
“Sadly, all these years later, terrorism, mass shootings, and hate crimes continue to rip apart our American communities,” Biden said in a statement on Friday.
“Our places of worship have been attacked, Hispanics have been targeted in places like El Paso, the death toll from mass shootings continues to mount, and LGBTQ+ people, particularly transgender women of color, are disproportionately targeted by violence,” he added.
The former vice president went on to hit what he called “inaction” from Republicans on the issue, saying it was “unacceptable.”
Forty-nine people died and dozens more were wounded in the shooting at the gay downtown Orlando nightclub during Pride Month in 2016. The gunman died in a shootout with police.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) also marked the four-year anniversary of the shooting on Friday by renewing her call to pass increased gun control measures in the Senate.
She noted that the House passed the Bipartisan Background Checks Act and the Enhanced Background Checks Act in early 2019, though the Senate has not voted on the legislation.
“As we take time to remember those we’ve lost, we must never back away from our mission to safeguard our communities and end the horrors of gun violence once and for all,” Pelosi said.