The Obama administration is continuing its push to rally support for a sweeping plan to address gun violence. On Thursday, Vice President Joe Biden called for action before hundreds of U.S. mayors gathered in Washington, D.C., for an annual meeting. In his address, Biden referenced the shooting rampage in Newtown, Connecticut, that claimed the lives of 20 children, six school staff and the shooter’s mother.

Joe Biden: “We have to do something. We have to act. And I hope we all agree there’s a need to respond to the carnage on our streets and in our schools. I hope we all agree that mass shootings, like the ones that we witnessed in Newtown 34 days ago, cannot continue to be tolerated. That tragedy, in all my years in public life, I think, has affected the public psyche in a way that I’ve never seen before.”