Washington: Joe Biden, President of the United States has called for a total ban on assault weapons, one day after a shooting incident in Georgia claimed the lives of four people.
Joe Biden emphasized on the need for a complete ban on “assault weapons”
President Biden during a speech remarked, “I’d like to say a few words about the school shooting yesterday. We as a country cannot keep putting up with the devastation caused by gun violence. I own a gun. I firmly support the amendment. We need more than thoughts and prayers,” the president was cited by CNN as saying.
In his appeal to Republican lawmakers, he said that some of them should “finally say enough is enough” and that “We have to do something together” as he urged the US Congress to take bold action for gun regulation in the US.
Mr. Biden further said, “I realize I’m in a rural area, like the rural parts of my state, where guns — we all have them and it’s not popular to talk about it, but the truth is, there’s a difference between rational and irrational.”
He acknowledged that the decision “won’t bring back those children.” However, it would “help save lives if we do the things we’re talking about.” He went on to say, “We can do if we do it together…and I really think we can.”
Joe Biden calls for prohibition of assault weapons across the US
Joe Biden has been advocating for the outright prohibition of assault weapons in the US. He has long advocated for the prohibition, but Republican leaders in Congress have obstructed him.
According to a CNN story, Mr. Biden also demanded that background checks be properly conducted, that gun manufacturers’ privilege end, and that parents who permit their children to possess weapons be held accountable.
Recent shooting incident in Georgia, US
At least four people, including two students, were killed and nine others wounded when another student from the same high school opened fire in the US state of Georgia on Wednesday.
After being apprehended, the alleged shooter is presently being held. Colt Cray, a 14-year-old student of Georgia’s Apalachee High School in Winder (about an hour’s drive from Atlanta) was identified as the perpetrator.
There were two students and two professors among the dead. The shooting and its motivation are still being looked into by law officials.
The rise in “mass shooting” in the US
According to the Gun Violence Archive, which, like CNN, defines mass shootings as events in which four or more people are shot, there have been at least 385 mass shooting incidents in the US as of this writing in 2024. That translates to more than 1.5 mass shootings every day on average.