Joe Biden has renewed a call for Congress to ban assault rifles, including the model that was used in the failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump. Trump’s ear was grazed by a bullet after a gunman shot at him from a nearby rooftop during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
“An AR-15 was used in the shooting of Donald Trump. This was the assault weapon that killed so many others, including children. It’s time to outlaw them,” Mr Biden told the audience at a convention in Las Vegas.
His demand came as he returned to the campaign trail for the first time since the attack.
For several days following the shooting, the Biden campaign had been on pause. Verbal attacks had been halted, television ads pulled and a message of unity was pushed by many prominent Democrats.
Speaking on Tuesday, Mr Biden continued in that vein, lamenting how “heated” politics has become. But he went on to roundly criticise Trump throughout the speech at the convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP), a prominent civil rights group.
“Just because our politics are very divided doesn’t mean we should stop telling the truth. Who you are, what you’ve done, what you will do – that’s fair game,” he said.
“Let me say it again because Trump is lying like hell about it,” he told the conference hall of primarily black voters.
“Black unemployment hit a record low under the Biden-Harris administration,” the president added. Statistics show that his government reached the record low unemployment rate for Black or African Americans in 2023, at 4.8%. Gun rights are an issue Mr Biden has frequently campaigned on.
In 1994, he was instrumental in passing an assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004. He referenced that legislation during his speech, saying “I’ve done it before, I’ll do it again”.
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In 2022, during his first term as president, Mr Biden signed into law the most significant gun safety legislation in more than two decades, which included enhanced background checks for gun buyers and other protections.
But he has repeatedly come up against strong opposition from Republicans to an assault weapons ban.
The president’s return to the campaign trail came as the Republican National Convention (RNC) closed out its second day on Tuesday, with a line-up of speakers – including former presidential nominee rivals Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis – roundly uniting behind Trump.
At a side event hosted by the gun rights group, US Concealed Carry Association, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign said Donald Trump would safeguard gun rights by appointing pro-gun judges if he is elected in November.
“We’ll see a continuation of supporting and defending the Second Amendment, and really where that comes into play is the judiciary,” Chris LaCivita told attendees, according to Reuters news agency.
Donald Trump has already said that he would unravel all of Mr Biden’s new gun rules if elected in November, a stance that shows no sign of changing even following Saturday’s attempt on his life.
Authorities are yet to land on the motive of gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was able to shoot at Trump after climbing onto the roof of a building 130m (426ft) from where he was speaking.
An independent review of the Secret Service’s handling of the shooting is underway and Republican leaders in Congress have also announced an investigation.
By BBC News
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