Biden urges ‘ban’ on private assault weapons
US President Joe Biden speaks about the recent mass shootings and urges Congress to pass laws to combat gun violence at the Cross Hall of the White House in Washington, DC, June 2, 2022. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)
Washington, United States — US President Joe Biden on Thursday urged lawmakers to ban privately-owned assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in order to curb the mass shootings plaguing the country.
“How much more carnage are we willing to accept?” Biden asked in a prime-time television broadcast from the White House, saying that short of a ban the age for purchasing such weapons should be raised from 18 to 21.
He also condemned as “unconscionable” the refusal of a majority of Republican senators to enact tougher firearms regulations.
READ: Biden says ‘Enough!’ on gun violence, urges Congress to act
It is “time for the Senate to do something,” Biden said, adding that lawmakers “can’t fail the American people again.”
Biden’s remarks come after recent incidents of mass shootings in Buffalo, New York; Uvalde, Texas; and Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the lives of at least a dozen people were lost.
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