In the wake of the Colorado and Atlanta shootings over the last week, President Joe Biden has called for a ban on what he classifies as ‘assault weapons’ and ‘high-capacity’ magazines.
“We can ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in this country once again. I got that done when I was a senator. It passed, it was the law for the longest time and it brought down these mass killings. We should do it again,” Biden stated.
His remarks came after ten people were killed by a shooter at a Colorado supermarket on Monday, and just the week before, eight people were killed in a separate shooting incident that took place at an Atlanta Spa.
Senator Micheal Bennet, a Democrat from Colorado, called on Congress to pass gun legislation in the aftermath of the shooting in his state.
“It’s long past time for Congress to take meaningful action to keep deadly weapons out of the wrong hands,” Bennet said in a statement following the shooting.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a long-time advocate for gun control, said, “For the second time in a week, our nation is being confronted by the epidemic of gun violence.”
“Too many families in too many places are being forced to endure this unfathomable pain and anguish. Action is needed now to prevent this scourge from continuing to ravage our communities,” Pelosi said in a statement the day after the Colorado shooting took place.
Earlier in March, the House passed H.R.8, which if passed in the Senate, would expand on the background check system currently implemented on commercial gun sales. House Democrats also passed H.R.1446, which would change the current waiting period for background checks from 3 days to 10-30 days.
