(NewsNation) — Almost one year after the passing of a bipartisan gun safety package, President Joe Biden called the legislation an “important first step” and encouraged advocates to keep up the fight against firearm violence during the National Safer Communities Summit on Friday.

Speaking to more than 600 people at the University of Hartford in Connecticut, Biden decried the gun violence that happens “every damn day” in America, the Hartford Courant reported. He told members of various gun safety advocacy groups and shooting survivors at the summit that they turned their “pain into purpose.”

“You’re the reason why I’m so optimistic about the future of this country,” Biden said. “And that’s not hyperbole. That’s a fact.”

Biden touted the passing of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which he called “the most meaningful gun legislation in 30 years” at the summit.

Among other provisions, the legislation, passed after shootings in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas, enhances background checks for gun purchasers between the age of 18 and 21; incentivized states to pass red flag laws; and made getting a firearm through straw purchases or trafficking a federal offense, among other provisions.

Still, the work is not over: “We will ban assault weapons in this country,” the president vowed Friday. He also said he wants to ban multi-round magazines, hold gunmakers liable and “beat the gun industry,” as well as politicians who “refuse to stand up and act.”

“It won’t be easy. I have no illusions, how fiercely they’ll fight back,” Biden said. “But I also have no illusions about the people in this room.”

To “advance the mission” of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra sent a joint letter to governors, highlighting resources the law includes to help students’ well-being — particularly those affected by gun violence.

“It’s no secret that we are facing a mental health crisis in this country, and our children are hurting,” Becerra said in a statement. “The actions being announced today will make it easier for schools to receive payment for the mental health services they deliver to students impacted by gun violence.”

Cardona added that too many students experience gun violence in their schools and communities.

“The grief and trauma caused by gun violence undermines their ability to learn and thrive and has only heightened the national youth mental health crisis,” Cardona said.