President Joe Biden will travel to Monterey Park on Tuesday, where he will discuss his efforts to reduce gun violence in America, in the wake of the Lunar New Year dance-hall shooting in the San Gabriel Valley city that left 11 dead, the White House confirmed Wednesday, March 8.
Details were scant on the visit — but it appears to be one stop on a larger West Coast swing as, according to reports, Biden gears up for a re-election run.
Nonetheless, the Monterey Park visit will surely echo the president’s State of the Union address in February, during which he called for an assault weapons ban.
“On Tuesday, March 14, the President will travel to Monterey Park, California. The President will discuss his efforts to reduce gun violence,” according to a brief White House statement.
Monterey Park has emerged as yet another American city where such violence has shaken lives and sparked discussion on legislation to better control assault weapons.
On the night of Jan. 21, a man walked into the Star Ballroom Dance Studio carrying a MAC-11 semi-automatic pistol, igniting a rampage that left 11 dead. Minutes later he would walk into another dance studio in Alhambra. He likely would have killed more if not for the actions of a worker there, Brandon Tsay, who disarmed him and kicked him out.
Biden, during his State of the Union Speech, pointed to the Monterey Park tragedy, and to the actions of Tsay — as a moment to pass legislation that would ban assault weapons.
“He thought he was going to die, but then he thought about the people inside,” Biden said in the speech. “He saved lives. It’s time we do the same as well. Ban assault weapons now. Ban them now — once and for all.”
That call has been echoed by local politicians who represent Monterey Park, including at the federal level. Longtime San Gabriel Valley Congresswoman Judy Chu, D-Pasadena, who with Rep. Anna Eschoo, whose district includes Half Moon Bay, called for Congress to formally condemn the…
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