Thursday, October 24

Biden pens oped calling for tighter gun legal guidelines, ban on AR-15-style weapons

President Biden is taking his case for harder gun limits on to the American public, writing in an op-ed that his energy is proscribed and Congress should “do more.”

Mr. Biden, writing in USA Today, mentioned final yr’s bipartisan invoice to increase background checks for younger individuals and pink flag legal guidelines that take away weapons from those that are a hazard to themselves or others was only a good begin, and he’s exploring government motion to rein in firearms.

“My power is not absolute. Congress must act, including by banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, requiring gun owners to securely store their firearms, requiring background checks for all gun sales, and repealing gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability,” he wrote. “We also need more governors and state legislators to take these steps.”

Mr. Biden, who just lately introduced his reelection bid, took credit score for previous actions towards gun violence whilst he mentioned extra must be accomplished.

He mentioned the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which handed final yr, is stiffening background checks on these 21 and youthful and has stopped greater than 160 firearms from entering into probably harmful palms, in response to Justice Department knowledge.

The invoice acquired by Congress after a racially motivated mass capturing at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, and a bloodbath in an elementary faculty in Uvalde, Texas.

Mr. Biden acknowledged that mass shootings proceed to occur, reminiscent of one at a Texas shopping center final weekend that killed eight individuals, together with youngsters.

The president mentioned he desires to construct an even bigger coalition to persuade Congress it’s time to ban AR-15-style weapons, which are sometimes dubbed “assault” weapons. He mentioned regulation enforcement might function a essential voice within the combat since cops don’t need to be “outgunned” by criminals with high-powered weaponry.

Republicans in Congress say they’re prepared to do extra on gun violence however new legal guidelines ought to punish criminals as a substitute of law-abiding gun house owners. They even have argued that efforts to limit accountable gun possession put harmless individuals at risk as a result of law-breakers will discover methods to acquire weapons and wreak havoc towards unarmed individuals.

In the oped, Mr. Biden warned his GOP rivals that almost all of the general public desires extra restrictive gun insurance policies and it’s time to come to the desk.

“Gun violence is mobilizing an entire generation of young people. But we cannot sit back and pass this problem off to the next generation to solve,” he wrote. “If we wait, too many of them will never have the chance to grow up. They deserve better than that, as do all of the gun violence survivors and victims’ families asking Congress to do more.”

Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com