United States President Joe Biden, on Thursday, made a fervent appeal for lawmakers to pass tougher gun control laws, including a ban on assault weapons, to curb a scourge of mass shootings turning American communities into “killing fields.”
Biden made the 17-minute address in his latest call for tougher firearms measures with 56 lighted candles arrayed along a long corridor behind him, representing US states and territories suffering from gun violence.
Biden noted that they can’t fail the American people again, condemning the refusal of a majority of Republican senators to support tougher laws as “unconscionable.”
At a minimum, Biden said, lawmakers should raise the age at which assault weapons can be purchased from 18 to 21.
He also urged them to take steps including strengthening background checks, banning high-capacity magazines, mandating safe storage of firearms, and allowing gun manufacturers to be held liable for crimes committed with their products.
He highlighted the story of a young student who smeared a dead classmate’s blood on herself to hide from a gunman at a Texas elementary school, saying Imagine what it would be like for her to walk down the hallway of any school again.
While Republican lawmakers have largely resisted tougher gun laws, a cross-party group of US senators held talks Thursday on a package of firearms controls.
Nine senators have been meeting this week to discuss a response to the mass shootings that had appalled the nation, projecting optimism over the prospects for modest reforms.
The group had focused on school security, bolstering mental health services and incentives for states to grant courts “red flag” authority to temporarily remove guns from owners considered a threat – a measure Biden also called for in his remarks.
