Washington.- President Biden declared yesterday that he cannot respond to the wave of gun violence in the United States, a blunt admission, after a gunman killed six people, including three children, at a school in Nashville.
“I have reached the limit of my executive authority to act on my own against anything about guns,” Biden told reporters, responding to questions about what actions he could take to prevent mass shootings.
It was a startling statement to have been made by a president who basically gave up in the face of one of the most intricate problems facing American society.
Although the political system has remained closed for more than a decade to major changes in gun laws — despite one horrifying shooting after another — Biden tried to leave that burden to Senators and Representatives who have so far refused to act. .
Even though they held majorities in both Houses of Congress for the first two years of Biden’s term, the Democrats were unable to pass an assault weapons ban, and any current efforts are certain to fail in the House. It is controlled by the Republicans.
Biden rejected questions about whether he can or should do more through executive action, such as trying to keep guns out of the hands of criminals or fixing the mental health issues that are often seen as the cause of massacres.
“Congress has to act,” Biden told reporters while addressing an economic event at a semiconductor plant in North Carolina.
“Most Americans think owning an assault weapon is bizarre, that it’s crazy. They are against it. I think Congress should pass an assault weapons ban.”
To be clear, he said “I can’t do anything except plead with Congress to act reasonably.”
Speaking later at the North Carolina event, Biden did just that, urging Congress to ban assault weapons and saying they should try to keep “those weapons of war” out of the hands of people who might use them. to kill children and other people.
