“Let’s finish the job, ban assault weapons again…”US President on mass shootings

In response to an increase in mass shootings, US President Joe Biden stated on Wednesday that the nation needs more funding to fight gun crime and that it is past due to once again outlaw assault weapons.

In his first major speech to a divided Congress, after Republicans took control of the House of Representatives, Joe Biden said, “10 years ago the ban was law, mass shootings went down. After Republicans let it expire, mass shootings tripled. Let’s finish the job and ban assault weapons again.” He continued by noting that, as gun violence is increasing, the US needs more resources to combat the current scenario in the nation.

“We need more resources to reduce violent crime and gun crime, community intervention programs…All this can help prevent violence in the first place…Ban assault weapons once and for all. We did it before. I led the fight to ban them in 1994,” Biden said during the State of the Union (SOTU) address on Tuesday in Capitol Hill.

Notably, mass shootings and excessive gun violence have increased in the US recently, and the country’s citizens have protested frequently in favour of tougher gun control measures. As well as warning China that the US “would act to preserve sovereignty if endangered” by China, Biden also emphasised the “serious difficulties” the US faced “around the world.”

In his first significant speech to a divided Congress, Biden declared, “If China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country. Let’s be clear, winning the competition with China should unite all of us. We face serious challenges across the world. In the past two years, democracies have become stronger, not weaker.”

The US President continued his remarks on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine by promising to support Ukraine “for as long as it takes.”
Since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine erupted on February 24, 2022, the US has committed more over USD 29 billion, according to the Pentagon. On Friday, Biden announced the newest package, which includes longer-range missiles for the first time and is valued more than USD 2.17 billion.

The US agreed to give Ukraine 31 modern M-1 Abrams tanks last month, and European nations agreed to give Ukraine Leopard 2 tanks built in Germany. It was a crossing of a red line that the US and other Western nations, including Germany, had traditionally maintained. According to CNN, the tanks are strong new weapons that enable Ukraine to go on the offensive and recapture territory taken by Russia.