President Biden on Wednesday informed survivors and households affected by gun violence that “work continues” on a “complete vary” of gun management measures with only some weeks left in Congress’s lame-duck session.
The 80-year-old president’s feedback on the tenth Annual Nationwide Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence held at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church in Washington, DC come lower than a month after he vowed to push for a ban on “assault weapons” and begin “counting the votes” earlier than the top of the 12 months.
“Whilst our work continues to restrict the variety of bullets that may be in a cartridge, the kind of weapon that may be bought and offered, try and ban assault weapons, an entire vary of issues – It’s simply frequent sense. Simply easy frequent sense,” Biden mentioned.
“We did it earlier than,” he added, citing the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban that expired in 2004, and he claimed that the variety of mass shootings was considerably lowered due to the laws.
However each Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill have grow to be more and more pessimistic in regards to the prospect of passing extra gun management laws earlier than the top of the lame-duck session.
“I don’t suppose that’s on the desk,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who supported the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that Congress handed this summer time, informed Fox Information Digital on Wednesday about that likelihood passing an assault weapons ban earlier than the top of the 12 months.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who spoke after Biden at Wednesday’s vigil, and whose house state suffered one of many worst mass shootings in US historical past when a gunman massacred 20 youngsters and 6 adults inside Sandy Hook Elementary Faculty 10 years in the past this month, was additionally gloomy Wednesday in regards to the possibilities of an assault weapons ban.
Blumenthal informed Fox Information Digital that the Senate “has quite a bit on our plate” proper now and that there are “most likely not 60 votes” which can be wanted for gun-control supporting senators to interrupt a filibuster.
Nevertheless, Blumenthal famous that he want to see a vote on a invoice even when it fails.
“I personally want to be on the report,” he mentioned.
White Home press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was pressed by reporters Wednesday on Biden’s Thanksgiving Day feedback pushing for a semi-automatic weapons ban earlier than the top of the 12 months, however supplied little perception on how a lot work the president has executed on gun management through the lame-duck session.
“Look, he desires to see — he desires to see the Senate get it executed. He desires to see, clearly, a vote within the Senate. He desires to ensure – he desires to see the assault weapons ban get executed. And he believes that’s what’s going to avoid wasting the lives of households and communities throughout the nation,” Jean-Pierre mentioned Wednesday.
When requested particularly if Biden had personally counted the votes he has in Congress to ban assault weapons Jean-Pierre mentioned she didn’t “have any dedication to share” and added that “there’s quite a bit taking place … within the subsequent couple of weeks.”
“Whether or not this occurs within the subsequent three weeks or past, that is — continues to be a precedence for this President,” she added.
“I’m sick and bored with these shootings. We must always have a lot stricter gun legal guidelines,” Biden informed reporters on Thanksgiving exterior the Nantucket Fireplace Division in Massachusetts.
The president made the feedback because the nation reeled from a spate of mass shootings in November, together with ones on the College of Virginia, a Walmart in Virginia, and a LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado.
“I’m going to attempt to do away with assault weapons,” he insisted.
“I’m going to do it every time I — I acquired to make that evaluation as I get in and begin counting the votes,” Biden added.
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