Obama says the US is 'paralyzed' by Republicans and the gun lobby who refuse to prevent mass shootings

• Former President Barack Obama said the US is "paralyzed" by Republicans and the gun lobby.
• He slammed the two groups for refusing to help prevent shootings after the attack in Uvalde, Texas.

Former President Barack Obama said the US is "paralyzed" by the Republican party and gun lobby after Tuesday's mass shooting at a Texas elementary school that left 19 children and two adults dead.

"Nearly ten years after Sandy Hook — and ten days after Buffalo — our country is paralyzed, not by fear, but by a gun lobby and a political party that have shown no willingness to act in any way that might help prevent these tragedies," Obama said in a late-night Twitter thread on Monday.

His remarks referenced the two mass shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, and a Buffalo, New York, grocery store earlier this month.

"It's long past time for action, any kind of action," Obama added. "And it's another tragedy — a quieter but no less tragic one — for families to wait another day."

Tuesday's shooting in Uvalde, Texas, was the deadliest at an elementary school since Sandy Hook, which Obama previously said was one of the worst days of his presidency.

After learning about the tragedy on December 14, 2012, Obama gave an emotional statement in the White House press briefing room. Former White House photographer Pete Souza told Insider in 2017 that it was "probably when he cried for the first time."

Obama's reference to the Republican party in his Monday night comments came as many GOP figures responded to the attack by arguing for more guns and security in schools.

President Joe Biden, who was Obama's vice president during Sandy Hook, gave an emotional address to the nation late Monday night where he slammed lawmakers for not standing up to the gun lobby.

"The gun lobby has spent two decades aggressively marketing assault weapons," Biden said, calling for renewed restrictions on assault weapons.