The parents of Tire Nichols and the man who disarmed the alleged Monterey Park shooter have been invited to attend President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on February 7.
The brutal beating of Nichols by Memphis police and the mass shooting at a dance hall in Monterey Park, Calif., this month have renewed calls for police and gun control measures.
Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said during a Sunday appearance on MSNBC that Nichols’ parents had accepted his invitation to attend the State of the Union.
“Earlier today, I spoke to the family of Tire Nichols on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus to offer our condolences, to let them know we are with them, to ask what they want from us at this moment, to honor their son’s legacy, and to invite them to be our guest at the State of the Union on February 7th so that we can ensure that this issue of police culture, police culture, which, unfortunately in this country has now contributed to countless deaths,” Horsford said.
Brandon Tsay, who disarmed the Monterey Park gunman at a dance hall in Alhambra, California, minutes after the gunman killed 11 people and injured at least nine others at the first site, was invited to the speech on the State of the Union by Representative Judy Chu. , D-California.
At a Medals of Courage ceremony by the city of the Alhambra on Sunday, Chu said Tsay’s actions were “so incredible” that she invited him to be her guest at the president’s speech. But only an hour after speaking with Tsay, the president himself asked Tsay to be his guest, Chu said.
“I can’t believe you turned me down for the president job,” Chu joked to Tsay.
The president spoke with the parents of Nichols and Tsay following the tragedies.
On Friday, Biden spoke by phone with Nichols’ mother and stepfather, RowVaughn Wells and Rodney Wells, who were allowed to privately view the video showing the brutal beating of Nichols by Memphis police a few days before its public release last week. During his conversation with them, Biden expressed condolences over the 29-year-old’s death and praised the family’s courage and strength, the White House said.
The president also said he was “outraged and deeply pained” in response to the videos of Nichols’ beating. In a statement shortly after the videos were released, Biden called the footage “horrible.”
“This is yet another painful reminder of the deep fear and trauma, pain and exhaustion that black and brown Americans experience every day,” Biden said.
Biden called Tsay last week to thank him for his brave act in disarming the Monterey Park shooter.
“Instead of running, Brandon said he thought he was going to die. But then he thought about the people inside,” the president said in remarks last week about the recent mass shootings in California that hit the Asian American community.” And in that moment, he’s following his instincts. And he follows his courage … He charged the shooter, threw him to the ground and took a semi-automatic pistol from him.
The president aims to use his second State of the Union address to illustrate how legislation passed over the past two years has helped deliver key promises he made to voters — particularly on the economy — as he prepares for a likely re-election campaign.
The president’s next speech to Congress is still a work in progress, the aides point out. But he is also likely to tackle lingering threats to democracy and burning political issues such as new gun safety measures and immigration.
This article originally appeared on NBCNews.com