‘Let Him Talk!’ Parkland Father Interrupts Biden’s Rose Garden Speech on Gun Safety Law Passage

President Joe Biden’s speech marking the passage of the new federal gun safety bill was interrupted Monday by Manuel Oliver – a parent of one of the victims of the Parkland, Florida high school massacre.

While unclear what Oliver shouted at Biden, he had made it clear on CNN earlier in the morning that he did not believe the bill was anything to celebrate.

“Well, it’s been a while that I’ve been calling out that using the word celebration, getting together, is like we’re going to a party, to a wedding today,” Oliver began on CNN’s New Day.

“Meanwhile, you can see these mothers in Uvalde that just saw how their kids were massacred inside a school. So, for me, it’s not only not enough, and you know very well what I’ve been preaching for. Even the president asked for more and it’s not happening. So, I really wish there was more in this package of bills,” he continued.

“And I will do whatever I can to get more in this package of bills. This is not the beginning or the end. A lot of people are saying this is the beginning. No, this is part of a process. There was no reason for this event to be called as it’s called right now,” Oliver concluded.

Biden’s speech took a very somber tone as he repeatedly called out the “killing fields” where mass shootings have taken place in the U.S. and vowed to take further action. Biden did praise the bill for strengthening the abilities of states to enforce red flag laws and enhance background checks for gun buyers under 21.

“Despite the naysayers, we can make meaningful progress on dealing with gun violence,” Biden declared in his speech as Oliver began to heckle the president.

“Sit down. You’ll hear what I have to say,” Biden then said, addressing Oliver.

Biden then paused his speech for Oliver’s interruption and said, “Let me finish my comments” and “let him talk, let him talk” as the crowd began to shout down Oliver. Oliver appeared to say, “We have to do more than that.” Oliver’s 17-year-old son, Joaquin, was one of the 14 students killed, along with three staff members in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

Promotion for the speech noted that Biden would be joined at the White House by “survivors and family members of victims of mass shootings from Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Tucson, Sandy Hook, Parkland, Santa Fe, Uvalde, Buffalo, Highland Park, and more,” the White House said in a fact sheet, “as well as survivors and family members of daily acts of gun violence that don’t make national headlines.”

Watch the full clip above via Fox News

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!