WORLD
President Biden calls on Congress to pass assault weapons ban, other restrictions
Baku, June 3, AZERTAC
US President Joe Biden said Thursday night that he supported an assault weapons ban. But short of that, he said he supports raising the age to 21 to purchase that type of firearm, according to The Texas Tribune.
“I know that we can’t prevent every tragedy,” he said in a nationally televised address. “But here’s what I believe we have to do, here’s what the overwhelming majority of the American people believe we must do, here’s what the families in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas, told us we must do: We need to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.”
The United States once had a 10-year assault weapons ban that expired in 2004. Since then, Biden said, the number of mass shootings soared. “In the 10 years it was law, mass shootings went down,” he said. “But after Republicans let the law expire in 2004, those weapons were allowed to be sold again, mass shootings tripled.” But the president quickly acknowledged political resistance to an assault weapons ban and pivoted to other more likely measures that could pass. “If we can’t ban assault weapons, then we should raise the age to purchase them from 18 to 21,” he added.
During his speech, Biden used the mass shooting in Uvalde, where a teenager was able to purchase assault weapons shortly after his 18th birthday, as an example of how such legislation could have far-reaching impact.
