Texas School Shooting Update: Pres. Joe Biden Blames Deadly Incident on 'Gun Lobby'; Death Toll Rises to 21

President Joe Biden addressed the nation hours after the Texas school shooting and blamed the gun lobby for the incident that killed over a dozen people.

New York Post reported that Biden made the remarks from the White House just before 9 p.m. Tuesday.

"As a nation, we have to ask when in God's name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? When in God's name will we do what we all know in our gut needs to be done?" the president said.

Biden went on to say that since he stood up at a grade school in Connecticut, where a gunman killed at least 26 people 10 years ago, there have been 900 incidents of gunfire reported on school grounds.

The president then urged lawmakers to improve gun laws across the United States in light of the school shootings.

"We can't and won't prevent every tragedy, but we know [gun laws] work and have a positive impact," Biden noted, adding that mass shootings went down when the Assault Weapons Ban was passed in 1994. However, the president said the law expired in 2004, and mass shootings across the country tripled.

The president noted that the idea that an 18-year-old can walk into a gun store and buy two assault weapons was "just wrong."

Biden added that gun manufacturers have the largest profit after spending two decades aggressively marketing assault weapons.

"For God's sake, we have to have the courage to stand up to the industry," the president said.

U.S. Senators Debate Over Gun Laws After Texas School Shooting

The Texas school shooting has sparked a fiery debate among senators regarding gun laws and violence in the U.S. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy on Tuesday criticized his fellow lawmakers for failing to keep the Americans safe.

"What are we doing? There have been more mass shootings than days of the year. Our kids are living in fear every single time they set foot in the classroom because they think they're going to be next. What are we doing?" Murphy said in a speech.

Murphy then urged his fellow senators to find a way and pass laws that could make incidents like the Texas school shooting less likely to happen. However, Texas Senator Ted Cruz said restrictive gun laws would not work in such incidents.

"Inevitably when there's a murderer of this kind, you see politicians try to politicize it, you see Democrats and a lot of folks in the media whose immediate solution is to try to restrict the constitutional rights of law abiding citizens," Cruz told CNN.

It can be recalled that a bipartisan bill called H.R. 8 was passed in the House of Representatives in 2019. However, the said bill was left untouched in the Senate for more than two years.

Under the said bill, a background check will be needed in purchasing firearms, so the individuals prohibited from possessing guns will not be able to obtain firearms.

In addition, this bill would also make it unlawful for anyone who is not a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer to transfer a firearm to anyone who is not licensed to have it.

Texas School Shooting Update: Death Toll Rises to 21

The death toll of the Texas school shooting on Tuesday rose to 21, according to Department of Public Safety Sgt. Erick Estrada, CNN reported.

The fatalities were reportedly composed of 19 students and two adults. The assailant, identified as Salvador Ramos, opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Ramos was shot dead by responding law enforcement.

A former classmate of Ramos revealed that the shooter texted him photos of a firearm he had and a bag full of ammunition days before the attack. The friend also said that others taunted Ramos in his class for the clothes he wore and his family's financial situation.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Joshua Summers

WATCH: Texas School Shooting: Biden Takes Aim at Guns in Address to Nation After "Another Massacre" - From Global News