(TheLibertyRevolution.com)- President Joe Biden indicated he may take matters into his own hands if Congress decides not to act and pass stricter gun control measures.
On Tuesday, Biden said Congress should pass new gun control laws quickly following the mass shooting at a store in Colorado Tuesday. It was the second mass shooting in a week.
Biden specifically said that the Senate should pass two bills that have already been approved in the House of Representatives. On March 11, the House passed the bills that would expand background checks on people who buy guns. The president also said he wanted to ban weapons that were assault styles.
At the White House on Tuesday, Biden said:
“I don’t need to wait another minute — let alone an hour — to take common-sense steps that will save lives in the future, and I urge my colleagues in the House and Senate to act.”
Jen Psaki, the White House spokesperson, said the president was “considering a range” of executive actions that he could take that would attempt to put a halt to gun violence. The executive actions wouldn’t require Congress to approve them, but their power only lasts while Biden is in the White House.
During his campaign, Biden said he’d work hard to pass gun safety laws. He hasn’t focused on gun control yet, though, as he’s been much more focused on the coronavirus, distributing vaccines and passing his $1.9 trillion economic relief proposal.
A gunman in Colorado killed 10 people on Monday at a shooting at a supermarket. That happened only six days after a man shot and killed eight people at three different spas in the Atlanta area.
Activists who are behind Biden say the president should take immediate action on gun control. That includes giving money to various cities to fight back against the gun violence, increasing background checks for those who wish to purchase firearms and even regulating the “ghost guns” market.
The last point relates to guns that are partially assembled. Right now, they aren’t subjected to the same rules as most other types of firearms.
On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer promised to take action on gun control, and took a jab at Republicans in the process. He said:
“This Senate will be different. This Senate is going to debate and address the epidemic of gun violence in this country.”
While he said that, Schumer didn’t offer any concrete legislation or timing for introducing any. He only said that the Senate was busy right now. He also wouldn’t commit to a bill that would ban assault weapons.
Passing gun control in the Democrat-led House is rather easy. Most Democrats support more gun control. Even if all Republicans in the House vote against gun control, Democrats can still pass through bills.
That’s a lot harder in the Senate, though. Democrats hold a slight technical majority, with a 50-50 split, but would need at least 10 Republicans to support any gun control measures.
And that’s going to be a tough hill for them to climb.
