Joe Biden ascended the podium Monday and joked about chocolate chip ice cream before calling for more gun control in the wake of the Nashville Christian school shooting.

He joked about ice cream with the audience in the East Room prior to shifting to talk about the Nashville school attack.

Biden said, “We know there are a number of people who did not make it, including children.”

He said, “We have to [do] more to stop gun violence. It’s ripping our communities apart, ripping at the very soul of the nation. We have to do more to protect our schools, so they aren’t turned into prison[s].”

Biden added, “The shooter, in this situation, reportedly had two ‘assault weapons’ and a pistol, two AK-47s.”

He said, “I call on Congress again to pass my ‘assault weapons’ ban. It’s about time that we begin to make more progress.”