Global Courant 2023-05-08 00:54:34
The US leader called on Congress to ban assault weapons after the latest mass shooting, which left nine dead.
US President Joe Biden has called on Congress to pass gun control laws in the wake of yet another mass shooting that killed nine people, including the gunman, at a Texas mall on Saturday.
The Democratic president on Sunday reiterated calls for Congress to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, implement universal background checks and end immunity for gun manufacturers. The narrowly divided House and Senate are unlikely to pass such legislation, although polls show that most people in the United States support background checks.
“Again I ask Congress to send me a bill that would ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Run universal background checks. Secure storage required. End immunity for arms manufacturers,” Biden said in a statement.
“I will sign it immediately. We need nothing less to keep our streets safe,” he added.
Biden, who has previously made similar requests, said the attacker at the Allen Premium Outlets mall in Allen, a northern Dallas suburb, was wearing tactical gear and armed with an AR-15-style assault weapon.
“Too many families have empty chairs at their dining tables,” he continued. “Republican members of Congress cannot shrug at this epidemic. Tweeted thoughts and prayers are not enough.”
The gunman killed eight people, including children, and injured at least seven before a police officer killed him, police said Saturday.
Mass shootings have become commonplace in the US, with at least 199 so far in 2023, the most at this point in the year since at least 2016, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The non-profit organization defines a mass shooting as a shooting in which four or more people are injured or killed, not counting the shooter.
As of Sunday morning, police had not yet released details about the identity of the suspect or a possible motive. The identities of the victims have also not been released.
“We don’t have anything to disclose at this time,” Sergeant Jonathan Maness of the Allen Police Department told Reuters. “It’s a lot of moving parts here.”
Officials said three people who had been transported to area hospitals were in critical condition as of Saturday, while four had been stabilized.
The tragedy in Allen, which came just over a week after another fatal shooting in the Texas city of Cleveland, reignited the heated debate over gun control in the US.
The Second Amendment to the US Constitution protects the right to bear arms, and that issue is a hot button for many Republicans, who are supported by millions of donations from gun rights groups and manufacturers.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, called the shooting “devastating” in a Sunday morning interview on Fox News, but said the way to effectively address gun violence lies in addressing mental health.
“There has been a dramatic increase in the amount of anger and violence that is happening in America,” he said. “We’re working to address that anger and violence by going to its cause, which is addressing the mental health issues behind it.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats stressed the need to pass stricter gun safety legislation to curb gun violence.
