ammunition as well. so, that is raising a lot of questions. ceo marty daniel, ali, pulled forbes in 2017 that their gun sales skyrocketed after sandy hook. liz, thank you for your reporting there. liz maclachlan, live in uvalde, texas. join me now as richard feldman, a former lobbyist for the nra, he s a president of the independent firearms owners association. he s the author of ricochet, confessions of a gun lobbyist. richard, it is good to see you again. you and i do have a habit of talking not just after shootings, and i was appreciate that, because i don t think we re entirely on the same side of this issue. we are in the same side of not having mass shootings. there is a pattern that has developed over the last couple of decades about how the school shootings go, who commits them, or kind of weaponry they use. given the increase in information that you and i get literally weekly, but do you think the solution is to this? i m always taken aback when we discuss this issue.
there s already signs that meaningful gun control legislation might just remain a pipe dream. last, week the republican congressman chris jacobs of new york, this man, who represents part of the city of buffalo, said he would vote for a federal assault weapons ban and that he was open to other gun control measures. barely a week later, he announced that he would be retiring instead of pursuing reelection after receiving fears blowback for his change in stance on gun control. that is what the gun lobby can do. and that is just a snapshot of the political dynamics are gun control right now. you have to wonder if there is really enough room for compromise to make any sort of significant change anytime soon. joining me now from uvalde s town square is nbc s liz maclachlan. les, but dina so far but the legal actions that some parents and survivors are taking? including actions against gun manufacturer, daniel defense? well, ali, the first court action was filed on thursday
if i commit a little speed limit. over the speed limit, they will stop you. you have 20 cars searching you down. but they could not go in there and break that effing door? they are darn cowards? cowards. they let those kids get slaughtered. texas officials say officers waited outside the barricaded classroom for nearly an hour while trapped students frantically called 9-1-1. joining me from the town square, nbc s liz maclachlan. liz, we ve seen long lines at the memorial in uvalde today where i am standing near robb elementary. the lions are wrapped around the corner. what are you hearing from people coming to pay their respects? alicia the crowd here has also been growing all day, people waiting in the hot sun to pay their respects to lay flowers in front of their 21
hold it all in. it s clear it s going to be a lot of time. this community will take time to heal. liz, we were at robb elementary when president biden and first lady biden arrived. we heard cheers from the crowd here. calls for help for this community. the members of the community the talk to, how are they reacting to the presidents visit? it s a little mixed. a lot of people saw this visit from president biden as a sign of comfort, support, hope, but a lot of people are frustrated with leaders in general. law enforcement of course, as you mentioned earlier, and our government leaders who have continued to not make substantial changes after tragedies like this. i talked to a group of teachers that were here. when teacher in particular said she is from a small texas community and predominantly has been in the community, and it s really hit home for her, he skits faces. they look like kids she has taught. the last names, a little too
familiar. it felt an attack like an attack on the hispanic community. they had signs that said teacher should not have to be human shields. demanding gun reform. a motorcade went right by they held up those signs hoping to get the message across to president biden. alicia? a lot of hispanics, a lot of latinos in this country feeling that same sense of familiarity. thank you so much for joining me, liz. texas state senator, roland. we greeted the president. we had a chance to speak to him for a bit. he assured me that he is going to be here for us than making sure that this community has the resources that we need. certainly the president s very special spiritual, as you know. a strong catholic. it was important for him to go to catholic mass. that is what we did.