Biden urges Congress to pass bills seeking to ban assault weapons, raise the purchasing age to 21

President Biden is urging Congress to pass a pair of bills that would raise the gun purchasing age to 21 and ban assault weapons following the nation's 39 mass shootings in just the first three weeks of 2023.

President of the United States Joe Biden.Photo byMatt Johnson / Flickr

In response to the 39 mass shootings that occurred in the first three weeks of 2023, United President Joe Biden is pressing Congress to enact a pair of legislation that would increase the purchasing age to 21 and outlaw assault guns.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, 39 mass shootings have occurred across the country in just the first three weeks of 2023, and discussions on gun control laws have ensued online.

While imploring lawmakers to act quickly, President Biden said:

The majority of the American people agree with this common sense action. There can be no greater responsibility than to do all we can to ensure the safety of our children, our communities, and our nation".

Political analysts believe that such a prohibition has very little chance of being approved by either the House of Representatives, which is now controlled by the Democrats or the Senate, which the Republicans currently control.

But Biden's dogged policy is still in effect: every time a mass shooting takes place, make a ban the topic of discussion in the public sphere and exert pressure on politicians who are opposed to a ban.

The White House is hoping to build on the existing strong public support for tighter gun safety rules and ultimately try to try to change the thinking of Republicans in Congress by applying pressure on them.

Every time there is a mass shooting in the country, President Biden delivers the same heartfelt and well-rehearsed speech, expressing outrage and grief over the prevalence of gun violence and reiterating his demand that Congress pass legislation prohibiting the sale of assault-style weapons.

Throughout his political life, President Biden has voiced his opposition to the use of assault-style weapons on multiple occasions. In 1994, he was a driving force behind the passage of a ban that would last for ten years.