U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday urged U.S. lawmakers to speed up the passage of laws banning assault weapons in the wake of recent shootings in the country.
«I urge both houses of Congress to act quickly and deliver the assault weapons ban to my desk,» Biden said, according to a statement released by the White House.
«The majority of the American people agree with this common sense action. There can be no greater responsibility than to do everything possible to ensure the safety of our children, our communities and our nation,» said the U.S. president.
Biden also praised the work of several Democratic senators who introduced bills to ban military weapons on Monday, a day after a man killed 11 people at a Chinese New Year celebration in Monterey Park, California.
«Communities across America have been hit by tragedy after tragedy, including mass shootings from Colorado Springs to Monterey Park and daily acts of gun violence that don’t make national headlines,» he has lamented, reminding that «there is still work to be done to keep» communities safe and to «prevent dangerous firearms from falling into dangerous hands.»
Democratic Senators Diane Feinstein, Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy have introduced bills seeking to ban the «sale, transfer, manufacture and importation of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines,» also raising the age for purchase from 18 to 21.
The U.S. leader has noted that Feinstein joined him in 1994 when the Senate passed a ban on the sale of assault weapons for ten years, until 2004.
California authorities reported Monday that at least seven people have been killed and one seriously injured in two shootings that may be linked in the coastal city of Half Moon Bay.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
