The speech, which compared American children killed to American victims of war, came one night when fellow Democrats on a House committee passed a series of proposals that most Americans could support but have no chance of going through a GOP blockade in the Senate. The National Rifle Association immediately rejected his proposals, but a few Senate Republicans are still negotiating with Democrats.
If Congress fails again this time, he called on Americans to vote in November, a recognition that any legislative victory over arms security will be difficult to achieve, and an unusual call for political action by the House. White.
“On Remembrance Day, last Monday, Jill and I visited Arlington National Cemetery. “Around the world. The day before, we visited Uvalde – – Uvalde, Texas. In front of Robb Elementary School, we were in front of 21 crosses for 19 third and fourth graders and two teachers.”
Biden opens his speech by equating those killed in domestic violence with weapons with those killed in American wars abroad. He appears in the White House with commemorative candles behind him.
“I want to be very clear. It’s not about taking weapons out of anyone. It’s not about insulting gun owners … I respect culture and tradition, the concerns of legal gun owners.”
Here Biden responds to the main accusation of Republicans who oppose arms control measures: that the government wants to trample on their right to bear arms. His promise here will not stop the concerns or attacks of the GOP against him using these lines.
“At the same time, the Second Amendment, like all other rights, is not absolute.”
Biden quotes late Supreme Court Judge Antonin Scalia here as noting that machine guns and other types of weapons have long been regulated. In a statement, the ANR dismissed the speech: “Everything the president repeatedly proposes will only violate the rights of law-abiding people who have never committed or will ever commit any crime.”
“Weapons are the number one killer of children in the United States. The number one killer. More than car accidents, more than cancer.”
More American children die from armed violence than from anything else. They used to be motor vehicles. In recent years it has become a weapon.
Biden also argued that over the past two decades more children have been killed by guns than police or service soldiers, but data on this claim were not immediately available.
“We should reinstate the ban on assault weapons … we passed in 1994 with bipartisan support in Congress and the support of law enforcement.”
Biden helped pass this law in 1994. But the bipartisan majority that passed it then does not exist today. The law expired in 2004.
It is believed that the bipartisan group that is now trying to reach a marginal agreement after the latest shootings is not even considering any of these suggestions.
“Why, in the name of God, should a normal citizen be able to buy an assault weapon containing 30 cartridge magazines that allow hundreds of massive bullets to be fired in a matter of minutes? Identify the remains of their children. Children again and 10 years “.
Like the ban on assault weapons, the federal ban on high-capacity magazines expired in 2004.
“Red flag laws could have stopped these two shooters.”
After calling for laws that most Americans support, but that Republicans in the Senate will oppose, Biden is calling for things that are currently under serious consideration by a bipartisan group on Capitol Hill.
However, New York’s red flag law could not stop Buffalo’s shooter. Texas has none. Florida passed a red flag law after a series of shootings there and Republicans did not pay a political price, which has raised some hope among proponents of new gun laws that a national red flag.
“If we can’t ban assault weapons as we should, we should at least raise the age to buy one up to the age of 21.”
Biden points out that the UValde shooter waited until he was 18 to buy weapons that his sister would not buy from him when he was 17 years old. He argues that 18-year-old military service members have supervision and training.
Waiting periods and age limits are restrictions that many Americans support, and in fact they could reduce some of these shootings.
While a large majority of Americans support many of these individual proposals, most Americans generally do not believe that gun laws should be tightened. CNN’s Harry Enten has written about this puzzle.
“Imagine, if the tobacco industry had been immune from being sued, where would it be today. The special protections of the arms industry are outrageous. It has to end.”
Biden’s claim that the arms industry is the only American industry immune to demand is false. Read a CNN fact check. Using lawsuits as a weapon against gun manufacturers is something California lawmakers are looking at right now, following Texas’ efforts to push for abortion-related lawsuits and social media companies.
“Imagine being that girl, that brave girl from Uvalde who smeared blood on the body of her murdered friend in the face to stand still among the corpses in her classroom and pretend she was dead to keep up with life “.
This is a really horrible and touching story. Read more here. There is a growing push among gun security advocates to share more horrific details in order to shock people into action.
“Even before the pandemic, people were already suffering. There is a serious mental health crisis in this country …”
Biden argues for more mental health spending here, apart from red flag laws. It is worth noting that the majority of gun deaths are suicides: 54% in 2020.
“The House of Representatives has already approved key measures we need, expanding background checks to cover almost all arms sales.”
These measures passed by the House have no chance of being passed in the Senate, where a minority can stop almost all legislation. To hear the argument against universal background checks, watch this CNN Dana Bash interview with Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Texas Republican.
“It’s time for the Senate to do something. But, as we know, to … do anything in the Senate, we need a minimum of 10 Republican senators.”
A number of Democrats have refused to end obstruction of certain laws. In the Senate, it takes 60 votes to do anything. Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, the top Democrat negotiator, said Thursday he was “ready for failure.”
“I support bipartisan efforts that include a small group of Democratic and Republican senators trying to find a way. But my God, the fact that most Republicans in the Senate don’t want any of these proposals to be debated or come out. to a vote, I find it unacceptable. “
Biden shares math with Americans here: 10 Republicans are needed to pass any legislation. What legislation will 10 Republicans support without losing Democrats? In any case, this is the legislation that can be passed under the current rules.
“Since Uvalde just over a week ago, there have been another 20 mass shootings in the United States, each with four or more people killed or injured, including yesterday at a hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma.”
So far, there have been more than 200 mass shootings in 2022, according to the non-profit organization Gun Violence Archive, including the shooting in Tulsa. There are more shootings than days so far this year.
“If Congress fails, I think this time the majority of the American people will not give up either. I think most of you will act and turn your outrage to make this issue the center of your vote. Enough, enough, enough.” .
Presidents do not usually encourage people to vote for a party from the White House, where they represent the whole country.
“It’s time for each of us to do our part. It’s time to act. For the children we’ve lost, for the children we can save, for the nation we love.”
One thing we know: more children will die this year because of armed violence.