Team Biden is again attempting to ensure that no crisis goes to waste, this time by using recent mass shootings to call for an “assault weapons ban.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre did so in the very beginning of her May 8th press briefing. Kicking things off with an attack on the 2nd Amendment, she said:
Today is Monday, May 8th. That mean it is the 128th day of 2023. And yesterday, according to leading accounts, we witnessed the 201st mass shooting in this country this year. That means we are averaging more than one a day. More than 200 mass shootings in 128 days. Credible estimates show that more than 14,000 people have died this year from gun violence.
This is a crisis. It is a crisis that the Republicans in Congress are refusing to address. We are talking about the number-one killer of kids in America, and Republicans in Congress are saying there is nothing that we can do about it.
Schools, shopping malls, churches, movie theaters, grocery stores, temples — places that are a part of our everyday lives, that are essential to our everyday lives — day after day are coming under attack from weapons of war that have no place — no place on our streets.
This is about protecting our kids, our places of worship. This is about protecting our everyday life.
Congress must address this crisis. Yesterday, the President once again — once again asked Congress to send him a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, ending immunity for manufacturers, requiring safe storage, enacting universal background checks. It’s just common sense. It’s just common sense. And it’s what the American people want — majority of the American people want.
When we have 200 mass shootings in less than 130 days — more than one a day — this is a crisis. Congress must do something about it.
Later, in the same press briefing, she also said:
I think two dozen executive actions speaking on it over and over again. He’s been very clear about the epidemic that we see in gun violence across the country. He has been clear not just as President, as Vice President, as senator. And he’ll continue to do that, not just him — the Vice President, the First Lady, as well.
We have used the full weight of the administration to do all that we can, use the tools that we have to deal with this issue.
But the fact remains, Karen, is that we need legislation. We need federal legislation to deal with this issue. We have seen some state legislation, as you know, banning assault — assault weapons, which is incredibly important. And I’ve lifted those up from here. So there are states out there who are doing the job, doing the work to keep their communities, their constituency safe. But we need federal legislation.
Then, later in the press briefing, she called for an assault weapons ban yet again, saying that President Biden “sees this as an epidemic — gun violence that’s happening across the country, in our communities, in our schools. And he wants and he’s going to continue to call for Congress to put forth real legislation banning assault weapons, because we should not have weapons of war on the street; making it — you know, making it tougher to make sure that it doesn’t get — guns doesn’t get into the wrong hands. And so that’s what the President is going to continue to call for.”
And KJP wasn’t the only apparatchik in Team Biden to call for an assault weapons ban. VP Kamala Harris did so as well in her statement on the Allen, TX shooting. In the third paragraph of that statement, she said, “President Biden signed the most significant gun safety legislation in 30 years and implemented important executive actions, but more must be done. Send a bill to President Biden that bans assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, implements universal background checks, and helps keep guns out of the hands of people who are a danger to themselves and others. We need action.”
President Biden himself joined in the anti-“assault weapons” assault as well. In his statement on the shooting Allen, TX, he also blamed the gun for the crime and called for that type of weapon to be banned, saying:
Yesterday, an assailant in tactical gear armed with an AR-15 style assault weapon gunned down innocent people in a shopping mall, and not for the first time. Such an attack is too shocking to be so familiar. And yet, American communities have suffered roughly 200 mass shootings already this year, according to leading counts. More than 14,000 of our fellow citizens have lost their lives, credible estimates show. The leading cause of death for American kids is gun violence.
Since I signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law and took two dozen executive actions to stem the tide of gun violence, we have made some progress. States are banning assault weapons, expanding red flag laws and more — but it’s not enough. We need more action, faster to save lives.
Too many families have empty chairs at their dinner tables. Republican Members of Congress cannot continue to meet this epidemic with a shrug. Tweeted thoughts and prayers are not enough.
Once again I ask Congress to send me a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Enacting universal background checks. Requiring safe storage. Ending immunity for gun manufacturers. I will sign it immediately. We need nothing less to keep our streets safe.
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