President Joe Biden implored Congress in a White House address Thursday night to approve “commonsense measures” to curb the deadly mass shootings that have shocked Americans, calling for new restrictions that he says will help combat gun violence.
Biden urged Congress to reinstate the 1994 ban on semi-automatic, rapid-fire assault weapons and high-capacity magazines that expired in 2004.
“And if we can’t ban assault weapons, then we should raise the age to purchase them from 18 to 21,” he said, noting that the gunman in last month’s school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, purchased two assault weapons as soon as he turned 18 and used them to kill 19 students and two teachers. Seventeen others were injured.
