Joe Biden calls for a ban on assault weapons and other measures to address gun violence: “How much more carnage are we willing to accept?”

President Joe Biden has called on Congress to ban assault rifles and high-powered magazines during late-night demonstrations to deal with a wave of shootings that has devastated communities across the country.

His speech, delivered on major television and cable networks, seemed destined to build public support for a range of measures in the context of the Republican compromise on limiting arms rights.

“We cannot defeat the American people,” Biden said from the White House.

Biden told some horrific stories that surfaced last week in Walta, Texas, when a gunman shot and killed 19 children and two teachers. But then a series of mass shootings took place, including Wednesday in Tulsa, OK.

“Over the past two decades, more school-age children have been shot and killed than by police officers and serving military personnel combined. Think about it. More children than a policeman on duty killed under gunfire. More children than a soldier killed with a gun. By God, how many more massacres are we willing to receive? How many more innocent American lives have to die before we can say enough? “That’s enough.”

He also seems to have realized the political reality of adopting the ban on assault weapons, saying that if that fails, “then we have to raise the age to buy them from 18 to 21”. He also called for the strengthening of background checks, the adoption of safeguards and red flag laws and the abolition of immunity, which protects arms manufacturers from liability, as well as measures taken for mental health. He called them “rational and common sense measures” because polls show broad public support. A Politico / Morning Consult poll last week after a shooting showed 67% strongly or in some way support a ban on assault weapons.

“We will know the moment. “Let’s finally do something,” Biden said.

A bipartisan group of senators is discussing potential legislation, although substantial issues of non-compliance remain. The Democratic-led chamber will vote on a series of measures next week and plans to hold a hearing on the banning of assault weapons, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter to members. After a long debate, the House Justice Commission approved a bill banning high-capacity magazines and the purchase of semi-automatic weapons by minors under 21. But the final hurdle to any law is to win the support of 60 senators, enough to defeat Philibaster, and Biden acknowledged that he will need at least 10 Republicans.

Biden said, “I support a bipartisan effort that includes a small group of Democratic and Republican senators trying to find a way, but my God.” The fact that most Republicans in the Senate are reluctant to consider or vote on these proposals it’s unreasonable. “

As vice president, Biden led the White House response to the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre, but the legislation was suspended in the Senate.

“It’s not about taking someone’s gun. “This is not an insult to gun owners,” Biden said. “Indeed, we believe that responsible gun owners should be seen as an example of how all gun owners should behave. I respect the culture, the tradition, the concern of the owner of a legal weapon. At the same time, the second amendment, like all other rights, is not absolute. “

Congress passed a ban on assault weapons, including AR-15s and AK-47s, in 1994, but it expired ten years later. “During the ten years that the law has been in effect, mass shootings have decreased. “But since the Republicans expired the law in 2004 and allowed the resale of these weapons, the mass shootings have tripled,” Biden said.

Biden noted that the damage to the AR-15 rifle “was so devastating to Wawald that the parents had to take a DNA test to determine the remains of their children.” Children aged nine and ten. “That’s enough.”