- Biden calls for assault rifle ban
- Trump shot with AR-15 rifle
- Biden resumes campaign, stresses gun control
Joe Biden has reiterated his plea for Congress to prohibit assault rifles, including the one used in the failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
During a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, a gunman shot at Trump from a nearby rooftop, grazing his ear.
Donald Trump was shot with an AR-15 rifle. This was the assault weapon that killed countless others, including children. It’s time to outlaw them, Mr. Biden said at a Las Vegas gathering.
His demand came as he resumed campaigning for the first time since the incident.
The Biden campaign had been paused for several days following the shooting. Many prominent Democrats had paused verbal attacks, cancelled television advertising, and promoted unity.
On Tuesday, Mr. Biden continued similarly, criticizing how “heated” politics have become. However, he went on to roundly criticize Trump throughout his speech at the convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a famous civil rights organization.
Just because our politics are so divisive does not mean we should stop speaking the truth. He said that who you are, what you’ve done, and what you will do are all fair game.
“Let me say it again because Trump is lying like hell about it,” he told a conference audience of primarily black people.
“Black unemployment hit a record low under the Biden-Harris administration,” the president added. According to statistics, his government will achieve a record low unemployment rate for Black or African Americans in 2023, at 4.8%.
Mr Biden has consistently fought for gun rights.
In 1994, he played a crucial role in enacting an assault weapons prohibition, which expired in 2004. During his speech, he mentioned the law, stating, “I’ve done it before, I’ll do it again”.
During his first term as president in 2022, Mr. Biden enacted the most important gun safety legislation in over two decades, including expanded background checks for gun buyers and other safeguards.
But he has often faced significant Republican resistance to an assault weapons prohibition.
The president returned to the campaign trail on Tuesday as the Republican National Convention (RNC) concluded its second day. A lineup of speakers, including erstwhile presidential nomination opponents Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, unanimously supported Trump.
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At a side event held by the gun rights group US Concealed Carry Association, a top adviser to the Trump campaign stated that if won in November, Donald Trump would protect gun rights by nominating pro-gun justices.
According to Reuters, Chris LaCivita assured attendees that there will be a continuation of supporting and protecting the Second Amendment, with the judiciary playing an important role.
Donald Trump has previously stated that if he won in November, he would repeal all of Mr Biden’s new gun regulations. This position shows no signs of shifting despite Saturday’s assassination attempt.
Authorities have yet to determine the motive of gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was able to shoot at Trump after climbing onto the top of a building 130 meters (426 feet) away from where he was speaking.
An independent review of the Secret Service’s handling of the incident is underway, and Republican congressional leaders have also called for a probe.
