President Joe Biden again called on Congress to ban assault weapons and take other steps to address gun violence following another deadly school shooting, this time in Nashville, Tennessee.
(Bloomberg) — President Joe Biden again called on Congress to ban assault weapons and take other steps to address gun violence following another deadly school shooting, this time in Nashville, Tennessee.
“We have to do more to stop gun violence,” the president said Monday. “It’s ripping our communities apart, ripping at the very soul of the nation. And we have to do more to protect our schools so they aren’t turned into prisons.”
“It’s sick, you know. We’re still gathering the facts of what happened and why,” Biden said. “There are a number of people who are not going to — that did not make it, including children. And it’s heartbreaking.”
Three students and three adults were killed Monday at a private grade school, and the suspected shooter — a 28-year-old woman — was killed by officers, according to the Associated Press.
Authorities are investigating whether the shooter — who police said was armed with two assault-type rifles and a pistol — had a connection to the school, according to AP.
Read more: Female Shooter Kills Six at Nashville School, Police Say
As he has after previous mass shootings, Biden again pleaded for Congress to ban all sales of assault weapons in the country and take other steps like requiring universal background checks, measures which are opposed by most Republicans, who, as of January, hold a House majority.
Last year, when Democrats controlled both the House and Senate, Congress passed the first nationwide gun-control legislation in 30 years, implementing changes to improve the national background-check system for gun purchasers under 21, and close the so-called boyfriend loophole that allowed dating partners convicted of domestic abuse to buy guns. But further gun restrictions are unlikely to pass the GOP-controlled House.
Biden earlier this month issued an executive order aimed at increasing background checks on gun purchases.
As of March 27, there have been 129 mass shootings in the US this year alone, according to data collected by the Gun Violence Archive.
Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP, helped launch Everytown for Gun Safety, which advocates for universal background checks and other gun-control measures.
–With assistance from Jennifer Jacobs and Justin Sink.
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