Biden Discusses Gun Control Avenues

The President floated the idea of a new assault weapon ban.

The President floated the idea of a new assault weapon ban.

In the wake of the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which came shortly after the shooting in Buffalo, New York, lawmakers have begun reexamining the potential of improved gun control laws in an effort to prevent the epidemic of mass shootings from continuing. Yesterday, President Joe Biden, who had just returned from a memorial service for the lives lost in the Uvalde shooting, spoke about his plans for the future, including a fresh ban on assault weapon ownership.

“It makes no sense to be able to purchase something that can fire up to 300 rounds,” Biden told reporters. “The idea of these high-caliber weapons — there’s simply no rational basis for it in terms of, about self-protection, hunting and I guess — and, remember, the Constitution, the Second Amendment was never absolute. You couldn’t buy a cannon when the Second Amendment was passed. You couldn’t go out and purchase a lot of weaponry.”

The United States previously had a ban on assault weapons in effect, though it expired back in 2004. Biden spoke of this old ban, crediting it with the reduction of gun deaths at the time. “Not many are saying it anymore, but there was a while there where people were saying that, you know, the tree of liberty is watered with the blood of patriots, and what we have to do is, we have to be able to take on the government when they’re wrong. Well, to do that you need an F-15, you know? You need an Abrams tank.”

“So, it’s just, as I say, I think things have gotten so bad that everybody’s getting more rational about it,” he concluded. “At least, that’s my hope and prayer.”

May 31, 2022

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