Joe Biden Gives Speech, Vows to Ban Assault Weapons

(RepublicanJournal.org) – President Joe Biden made a bold announcement during a speech on March 1 at the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. He told members and the American public he vowed to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines among his administration’s plans moving forward.

Biden vows to ban assault weapons 'come hell or high water' https://t.co/ASJ6JfIKBT

— Fox News Politics (@foxnewspolitics) March 2, 2023

Biden qualified his assertion by noting that neighboring state Delaware had “one of the highest rates of gun ownership,” as though the figure backed his agenda, according to Fox News. The president failed to add that Delaware also implemented a ban on assault weapons in June 2022 and had the nation’s 11th-lowest gun-related death rate at its last official tally in 2019.

Biden has been a vocal supporter of assault weapons bans, repeatedly calling upon Congress to act. His latest speech came on the heels of a February 13 mass shooting, during which three Michigan State University students died and six other people sustained injuries. Immediately following that tragedy, on the fifth anniversary of Florida’s Parkland High shooting, Biden announced states would receive an added $231 million to bolster red flag programs and improve crisis intervention efforts in the hopes of curbing gun violence. Part of the funding will go to programs designed to reduce risk by empowering law enforcement, family members, school officials, and healthcare providers with a means to petition the court to intervene in cases where people with access to firearms are at risk of harming themselves or others.

Gun reform proponents believe the government holds responsibility for protecting citizens from senseless acts of violence by regulating firearms and the people who use them. They mainly blame assault weapons and high-capacity magazines for the waves of violence that have crippled communities nationwide, asserting how universal background checks could shift the trend. Opponents, including the NRA, say these types of laws do nothing but infringe upon law-abiding gun owners’ rights, violating the letter and spirit of the First Amendment.