President Joe Biden visited Maine on Friday to meet with members of communities affected by the mass shooting that killed 18 people.
The Oct. 25 attack at a bowling alley and bar in the town of Lewiston also injured 13 people.
Biden stood outside the bowling alley and renewed his call for a ban on assault rifles. However, he is unlikely to pass such a measure even if his fellow Democrats control both houses of Congress.
As we mourn in Maine today, this tragedy has already caused painful trauma across the country,“ Biden said.
He argued that the attack should prompt Congress to act to pass new gun laws.
„Regardless of our politics,“ he said, „this is about protecting our freedom to go to bowling alleys, restaurants, schools, churches, without being shot at.
A three-day manhunt for the shooter, a 40-year-old U.S. Army reservist, followed.
The attack began at Just-In-Time Recreation, which hosts bowling leagues, before the gunman headed to nearby Schemengees Bar & Grille, which was hosting a sandbag tournament.
The dead included a grandfather, a talented young bowler and four members of a deaf sandbag team.
Sean Gosselin, a local resident, told the BBC that while the experience had been „tough, the town is slowly getting back to normal and coping as best it can“.
On Thursday, for example, Mr. Gosselin said many townspeople gathered to watch the local high school’s football team – the Lewiston Blue Devils – play an opponent from the nearby town of Auburn.
„It’s a symbol of resilience and moving on, but it’s also not without honoring the memory of the victims of this terrible crime“, he said.
The Lewiston shooting is the worst shooting in the United States so far this year and the worst in Maine history.
The killer, Robert Card, was found dead by suicide a few days after the crime.
Biden also called on Republican lawmakers to allow gun manufacturers to be held liable for the shooting.
On Friday, pro-gun activists took to social media to criticize the president’s latest call for gun control.“ The Truth About Guns shared a post from a conservative commentator questioning why Biden didn’t speak in Chicago, a Democratic stronghold that has seen more than 2,000 shootings this year.
Maine officials have struggled to explain how the Lewiston shooter legally obtained his weapon, despite warnings from his Army Reserve unit that he faced mental health issues.
Janet Mills, Maine’s Democratic governor, said she thanked Biden for his „unwavering support“ of the state in the wake of the shooting.
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