President Biden invited leaders of the gun control movement to the White House for the signing of the bipartisan "Safer Communities Act.” Included in those invited wasNebraskans Against Gun Violence Board President, Melody Vaccaro.
The bi-partisan legislation works on several things - including improving the background check system for people under 21 and strengthening so called "red flag" rules that allow guns to be taken from people who may pose a danger to themselves or others.
Vaccaro said she had mixed emotions during the ceremony.
“I would say the whole thing was a little bit bittersweet because we know that no one from the Nebraska Delegation signed onto the bill," she said. "The only solution that they are bringing to our gun violence problem is mental health, which is basically counseling. And I don’t think any rational person believes that counseling is going to cut the 40,000 American gun deaths we had last year."
Nebraskans Against Gun Violence dedicates itself to using a combination of education, policy, and accountability to reduce gun violence in the state and across the U.S. Vaccaro feels that even though we can’t go back and fix all the harm that guns have caused, we have the opportunity to do better today.
At one point during the signing ceremony, the father of a child that died in the Parkland shooting stood up and began yelling at Biden for not doing enough.
“People in the crowd were saying ‘Get him out of here!’ and the President said ‘let him speak!’ then he validated what that man said and that it's NOT enough what they did today. But it’s the starting point. And you have to start somewhere," said Vaccaro.