Washington [US]: US President Joe Biden urged US Congress to ban assault-style weapons and expand background checks to curb gun violence in the United States.
The president also called for “red flag” laws and a repeal of the immunity that protects gun manufacturers from legal liability if their weapons are used in violence.
“For God’s sake, how much more carnage are we willing to accept?” Biden asked adding, “How many more innocent lives must be taken before we say, ‘Enough’?”
The remarks come after the US, in just three weeks witnessed three deadly shootouts and 35 deaths. The most recent one that took place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, resulted in five people dead including the shooter at Saint Francis Hospital.
A man is detained following a mass shooting in the parking lot of TOPS supermarket, in a still image from a social media video in Buffalo, New York, U.S. May 14, 2022. Courtesy of BigDawg/ via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT
“If we can’t ban assault weapons then we should raise the age to purchase them from 18 to 21,” Biden said. “There are too many other schools, too many other day places that have become killing fields, battlefields here in America,” he added Thursday evening. The president cited a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Center, which found that guns were the leading cause of death among children. “Guns are the number one killer of children in the United States of America,” Biden noted and stressed the need to ban assault weapons or raise the age for purchasers.
The president said such measures are not about “taking away anyone’s guns” or “vilifying gun owners” but rather about protecting children and communities from gun violence.
“It’s about protecting our freedom to go to school, to a grocery store, to a church without being shot and killed,” Biden said.
In addition to gun-related proposals, Biden also called on Congress to address the mental health crisis.
“There is a serious mental health crisis in this country,” Biden acknowledged.
