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Jul 11, 2022 - Politics & Policy

Biden gun control speech interrupted by Parkland victim's dad

Julia Shapero

Manuel Oliver, whose son Joaquin was killed in the Parkland mass shooting, interrupts U.S. President Joe Biden as he delivers remarks at an event to celebrate the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act on the South Lawn of the White House on July 11, 2022. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The father of a Parkland shooting victim interrupted President Biden's speech on gun control Monday, urging the president to "do more," Politico reports.

Driving the news: Manuel Oliver — whose 17-year-old son Joaquin Oliver was killed in the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida — shouted at Biden: “You have to do more" as the president spoke from the South Lawn of the White House.

  • "Make no mistake about it," Biden responded to Oliver, who was escorted out of the event by White House security, according to Politico. "This legislation is real progress, but more has to be done."

The big picture: Biden's speech on Monday celebrated the passage of the most significant federal gun control legislation in 30 years. He was joined by survivors and family members of victims of mass shootings at the White House event.

  • Oliver criticized the use of the term "celebration" to describe the event and noted that he thinks the legislation is "not enough" at an appearance on CNN earlier on Monday.
  • "The word CELEBRATION has no space in a society that saw 19 kids massacred just a month ago," he wrote in a tweet.
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