‘Enough! Do something!’ Biden again demands a ban on assault weapons and accuses MAGA Republicans of wanting to defund the police and abolish the FBI – as he announce more background checks for gun buyers
- Biden spoke in Monterey Park, California
- In January 11 killed and nine injured in mass shooting
- Hero Brandon Tsay was present for Biden’s speech
President Joe Biden on Tuesday accused MAGA Republicans of wanting to defund the police and ‘abolish the FBI’ as he made the case for stricter gun laws.
‘Last week I laid out in my budget that we invest more in safer communities and invest in mental health services for those affected by gun violence. Congressional Republicans should pass my budget instead of calling for cuts in these services or abolishing the police or defunding the FBI,’ he said.
The president made an emotional appeal for stricter gun laws as he signed an executive order to increase the number of background checks.
Biden spoke at Monterey Park, where, in January, a gunman killed 11 people and injured nine others in a mass shooting.
President Joe Biden greets Brandon Tsay (left), the hero of the Monterey Park shooting
The president described it as ‘a day of festivity and light turned in to fear and darkness.’
His audience of families affected by the shooting and community leaders, listened in silence as he told them he understood how their ‘sense of safety’ was ‘shattered.’
‘I’m here to mourn with you, pray with you, to let you know you are loved and not alone,’ Biden told the crowd.
The silence turned to applause when he talked about Bradon Tsay, who helped stop the shooter, and when the president praised the multiple Oscar wins by the film Everything Everywhere All At Once.
Tsay greeted the president at the airport and was in the auditorium for his remarks. He stood when Biden pointed him out and the crowd gave him a standing ovation.
Biden repeated his call for Congress to ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines weapons, which is unlikely to happen with Republicans in control of the House.
‘Ban assault weapons. Ban them again. Do it now. Enough. Do something. Do something big,’ he said, his voice growing louder as he spoke.
A woman in the crowd at Biden’s speech wipes away a tear
Biden demanded Congress take action: ‘Ban assault weapons. Ban them again. Do it now. Enough. Do something. Do something big,’ he said
Brandon Tsay greets President Biden at the airport upon the president’s arrival in Los Angeles
By taking action through executive order, Biden can bypass Capitol Hill.
His order will increase the number of background checks to buy guns, promote better and more secure firearms storage and ensure U.S. law enforcement agencies are getting the most out of a bipartisan gun control law enacted last summer.
‘He is directing the Attorney General to move as close as we can to universal background checks without additional legislation,’ a senior administration official said of the order.
‘There are a few policy ideas more popular among the American people then universal background checks but Congress fails to act.’
Biden’s rhetoric on gun laws has grown strong during his presidency as gun violence has been on the rise in the wake of the COVID pandemic.
His budget proposal includes funds for hiring 100,000 additional police on the streets, plus money for crime prevention strategies and community violence intervention.
Republicans originally used the cry ‘defund police’ against Democrats. But the Democrats are attempting to turn the tables, using GOP opposition to $1.9 billion to boost Capitol security and fund the police officers in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riots as a way to argue Republicans want to defund the police.
Additionally, after FBI agents raided Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home with a search warrant, some Republicans called for the agency to be disbanded.
And the president could use guns as issue in his re-election campaign. He has not formally announced a second bid for president but said he intends to run again.
The January shooting in Monterey Park saw 11 die and nine injured
The 11 victims of the horrific Monterey Park mass shooting that occurred amid Lunar New Year celebrations are identified as: My Nhan, 65, Lilian Li, 63, Xiujuan Yu, 57, Muoi Ung, 67, Hong Jian, 62, Diana Tom, 70, Yu Kao, 72, Chia Yau, 76, Valentino Alvero, 68, Wen Yu, 64, and Ming Ma, 72,
It is not the first time Biden has highlighted the Monterey Park shooting to make the case for stronger gun laws.
Tsay sat in first lady Jill Biden’s box at Biden’s State of the Union address in February.
After the shooter attacked the Star Ballroom Dance Studio. The shooter then headed to another dance center in nearby Alhambra.
When he entered the Lai Lai Ballroom and Studio, Tsay, a 26-year-old computer programmer whose family owns the dance studio, confronted the gunman in the lobby, wrestled the gun away, and chased him out. Tsay is credited with stopping another massacre.
‘He saved lives. It´s time we do the same as well,’ Biden said in his speech to Congress. ‘Ban assault weapons once and for all.’
Biden is also mandating better reporting of ballistics data from federal law enforcement for a clearinghouse that allows federal, state and local law enforcement to match shell casings to guns. But local and state law enforcement agencies are not required to report ballistics data, and many do not, making the clearinghouse less effective.
And the president is going to ask the Federal Trade Commission to issue a public report analyzing how gun manufacturers market to minors and use military images to market to the general public.
Congress passed legislation last year, known as the Safer Communities Act, which is viewed by gun control advocates as a good start but one that doesn’t go far enough.
After the law was signed, there were 11 other mass shootings.
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