Biden calls for reinstatement of assault weapons ban
Speaking at the White House about recent mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., and Uvalde, Texas, President Biden called for Congress to pass several proposals, including a reinstatement of an assault weapons ban, to curb gun violence.
Video Transcript
JOE BIDEN: How many more innocent American lives must be taken before we say enough? Enough. I know that we can't prevent every tragedy. But here's what I believe we have to do. Here's what the overwhelming majority of American people believe we must do. Here's what the families in Buffalo and Uvalde in Texas told us we must do.
We need to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. And if we can't ban assault weapons, then we should raise the age to purchase them from 18 to 21. Strengthen the background checks enact safe storage law and red flag laws. Repeal the immunity that protects gun manufacturers from liability. Address the mental health crisis deepening the trauma of gun violence and as a consequence of that violence. These are rational, common sense measures.
Here's what it all means. It all means this. We should reinstate the assault weapons ban on high-capacity magazines that we passed in 1994 with bipartisan support in Congress and the support of law enforcement. Nine categories of semi-automatic weapons were included in that ban, like AK-47s and AR-15s. And in the 10 years it was law, mass shootings went down. But after Republicans let the law expire in 2004 and those weapons were allowed to be sold again, mass shootings tripled. Those are the facts.
