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President Joe Biden gives the 2023 State of the Union address. | Photo courtesy of the White House
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President Joe Biden took time during his State of the Union address Tuesday evening to salute Brandon Tsay, the hero who wrestled a gun away from the Monterey Park mass shooter and likely prevented a second tragedy from occurring in nearby Alhambra.
Biden also used the moment to call for increased gun control.
“Two weeks ago, during Lunar New Year celebrations, he heard the (Lai Lai Ballroom) studio’s front door close and saw a man pointing a gun at him,” Biden said of Tsay, who was among the guests in first lady Jill Biden’s viewing box Tuesday night in the U.S. Capitol’s House chamber.
“He thought he was going to die, but then he thought about the people inside. In that instant, he found the courage to act and wrestled the semi- automatic pistol away from a gunman who had already killed 11 people at another dance studio. He saved lives.
“It’s time we do the same as well,” the president added. “Ban assault weapons once and for all.”
It marked the second time since the Jan. 21 Monterey Park tragedy that Biden lauded the 26-year-old Tsay. In a phone call two weeks ago, Biden thanked Tsay for “taking such incredible action.”
“I wanted to call to see how you’re doing and thank you for taking such incredible action in the face of danger,” Biden told Tsay at the time. “I don’t think you understand just how much you’ve done for so many people who are never even going to know you. But I want them to know more about you.”
Tsay repeatedly thanked Biden for the phone call, saying, “For you to call, that’s just to comforting to me.”
Biden also told Tsay, “You have my respect” and “You are America, pal. You are who we are. America’s never backed down. We’ve always stepped up, because of people like you.”
On the night of Jan. 21, Tsay confronted and disarmed gunman Huu Can Tran at the Lai Lai Ballroom and Studio in Alhambra, shortly after Tran shot 20 people — 11 fatally — at another dance studio in Monterey Park. Tsay’s family runs the Lai Lai studio.
Monterey Park City Councilman Henry Lo, who was mayor when the shooting occurred, also attended the speech, as a guest of Sen. Alex Padilla, while Juily Phun, a niece of one of the fatally wounded Monterey Park victims, attended as a guest of Rep. Judy Chu.
Tsay, Lo and Phun — the niece of 67-year-old shooting victim Muoi Dai Ung — were also special guests Tuesday morning at a State of the Union reception in Washington honoring Monterey Park, hosted by the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.
Chu, a former Monterey Park City Councilwoman and three-time mayor before she was elected to Congress, is chair of the caucus.
Tsay was originally invited to the State of the Union by Chu last month, but shortly thereafter reportedly was asked by the president himself to be his guest — prompting Chu to joke to Tsay during a “medal of courage” ceremony in Alhambra, “I can’t believe you turned me down for the president.”
Lo, the former Monterey Park mayor and now a District 4 councilman, led the city in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, saying at one point, “Our priority is to make sure that those victims, their family members are given the resources they need to heal. … Together, we can overcome this tragedy.”
Said Padilla, “It’s an honor to be joined by Councilman Henry Lo at this year’s State of the Union address. Henry’s leadership has been instrumental in honoring the lives of those we lost in Monterey Park and helping the community heal after such a devastating loss.”
Padilla, D-California, also called for Congress to pass “sensible, nationwide gun safety laws” — a call that was echoed by Lo in a statement released by Padilla’s office.
“It is urgent that we take federal action to ensure that no other community in America has to mourn lives lost to senseless gun violence,” Lo said.
“The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act was an important step to protecting our communities, and I thank Senator Padilla for his continued advocacy at the federal level for common-sense gun safety reforms that will keep our communities safe.”
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