Biden Determined to Ban Assault Weapons

On Monday, President Joe Biden said the United States is "awash in weapons of war" and that he is determined to ban assault weapons that are frequently used in mass shootings.

"I'm determined to ban these weapons again. I'm not going to stop until we do it," Biden said in a statement in the White House.

The president spoke to a crowd of hundreds of lawmakers, advocates, and relatives of victims of gun violence on the South Lawn of the White House to celebrate the passage and signing of the Bipartisan Safe Communities Act following a school shooting in Ovaldi, Texas, last month. , which left nearly 20 children dead.

At the end of his remarks, Biden acknowledged that more needed to be done, focusing in particular on the availability of high-powered weapons.

“We’re living in a country awash in weapons of war,” Biden said. “What is the rationale for these weapons outside war zones?”

Previously, the US president called for a ban on assault weapons in the wake of shootings in Ovaldi, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, among other mass shootings. However, such a measure does not have enough support in the House or Senate, where Democrats have a narrow majority.