Joe Biden also called Republican senators’ refusal to enact gun legislation “unconscionable.”
Washington:
US President Joe Biden on Thursday begged lawmakers to take action on gun violence perpetrating in the country, calling for a ban on assault weapons such as those used in mass shootings. Recently observed in Texas and New York.
Biden delivered a 17-minute speech – his latest call for tougher weapons laws – with 56 lit candles arranged along the long hallway behind him to represent for U.S. states and territories experiencing gun violence.
“How much more carnage are we willing to accept?” The president asked during the speech, which he said in an angry voice, sometimes sinking close to a whisper.
“We cannot let the American people down again, and condemn the majority of Republican senators who refuse to support tougher legislation that is more than ‘unconscionable’,” he said.
Mr Biden said lawmakers should at a minimum raise the age at which assault weapons can be purchased from 18 to 21, a measure that helps curb the rampant violence that has turned schools and hospitals into “killing fields”. “.
He also urged them to take steps including increasing background checks, banning high-volume magazines, requiring the safe storage of firearms and allowing gun manufacturers to be held accountable for crimes. caused by their products.
“Over the past two decades, more school-age children have died from guns than active-duty police officers and active-duty military personnel combined. Think about it,” Biden said.
While Republican lawmakers are largely against tougher gun laws, a cross-party group of US senators held talks on Thursday over an arms control package.
Nine senators met this week to discuss how to respond to mass shootings that have horrified the nation, predicting optimism about modest reform prospects.
The group has focused on school security, strengthening mental health services, and encouraging states to give “red flag” courts the power to temporarily take away firearms from owners deemed a threat. threats – a step Biden also called for in his remarks.
Even as lawmakers ponder the response to the murder of 10 Black supermarket shoppers in Buffalo and the Texas school shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead, an Another public event took place in Oklahoma on Wednesday.
– Hospital attack –
A man with a pistol and a rifle murdered two doctors, a receptionist and a patient in the Tulsa hospital complex before killing himself when police arrived.
Lawmakers realize they run the risk of wasting momentum as the urgency for reforms caused by the murders dissipates, and a smaller group of other senators are organizing the meetings. parallel discussion about expanding background checks on gun sales.
The political challenge of legislating in the 50-50 Senate, where most bills require 60 votes to pass, means broader reforms are impractical.
Mitch McConnell, Republican leader in the Senate, told reporters the senators were trying to “target the issue” – which he said was “mental illness and school safety” rather than readiness have of guns.
However, House Democrats are set to pass the much broader but symbolic “Protect Our Children Act,” calling for raising the age to buy semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21. and ban large-volume magazines.
The package will likely pass the Democratic-led House of Representatives next week before dying amid Republican opposition in the Senate.
With regulation so difficult at the federal level, an effort is also underway among state legislatures to push for stricter gun laws.
California lawmakers have advanced a gun control package in the wake of the Uvalde shooting that includes proposals to expand gunmen to civil liability in certain circumstances.
The proposals echo actions taken by lawmakers in New York state, while the buy-in bill is moving through the Delaware legislature and Texas gun rights advocates are seeking to “make legislative recommendations available.” law” in response to the shooting in Uvalde.
However, greater restrictions activists fear a setback at the federal level as the Supreme Court prepares to deliver its first major Second Amendment opinion in more than a decade. .
Judges are expected to rule in the coming weeks in a dispute over New York state’s strict limits on carrying handguns stashed outside of homes.
A narrow opinion could affect only a handful of states with similar laws, but campaigners fear a conservative majority will rule out a broader ruling, clearing the way for constitutional challenges to the law. gun safety nationwide.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from the syndication feed.)
