US President Joe Biden on Tuesday called on Congress to take immediate action to ban assault weapons, as California suffered two deadly mass shootings in less than 48 hours.
A group of senators on Monday reintroduced a federal assault weapons ban and legislation that would raise the minimum age to purchase assault weapons to 21.
“We know that the scourge of gun violence across America requires strong action. Once again, I urge both houses of Congress to act quickly and bring an assault weapons ban to my desk. , and take action to keep America’s communities, schools, workplaces and homes safe,” Biden said in a statement.
A suspected gunman was taken into custody Tuesday in connection with the killing of seven people in a rural community in Northern California, just two days after a mass shooting at a Lunar New Year celebration near Los Angeles.
A law banning assault rifles expired in 2004, and Congress has repeatedly failed to renew it even as the country faces repeated mass shootings.
Many Republicans oppose the ban, citing the constitutional right to own guns.