WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden renewed his call to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines Tuesday after a shooting on the campus of at Michigan State University killed three students and injured five others.
“I’m going to say something that’s always controversial,” Biden said Tuesday in remarks addressing the National Association of Counties. “There is no rationale for assault weapons and magazines that hold 50, 70 bullets.”
The shooting came on the eve of the five-year anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida that killed 17.
Biden, who spoke to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Witmer Monday, said “our hearts are with the students and families of Michigan State University.”
Michigan State University shooting live updates:‘Our Spartan hearts are broken’
3 killed, 5 injured in MSU shootings:Suspect dead after hourslong search
The gunman, identified Tuesday as Anthony Dwayne McRae, 43, died from a self-inflicted gunshot would after a massive manhunt led to a confrontation with police. McRae pleaded guilty in 2019 to a weapons-related charge in Lansing, Michigan.
“It’s a family’s worst nightmare and it’s happening far too often in this country,” Biden said. “While we gather more information, there’s one thing we do know to be true. We have to do something to stop gun violence ripping apart our communities.”
Biden’s push to reenact a ban on assault weapons, which expired in 2004, is unlikely to gain momentum in a Republican-led House and even faces an uphill climb in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Last year, amid calls for gun reform after mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York, Congress approved bipartisan legislation more modest in scope that provided incentives for states to adopt red-flag gun laws and enhanced background checks on young buyers.
Biden has also proposed background checks on all gun sales, tightening existing background check laws, requirements for gun storage and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers.
There have been over sixty mass shootings in 2023, totaling out to more than one mass shooting per day.
Reach Joey Garrison on Twitter @joeygarrison.
Story Credit: usatoday.com