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Biden pushes for ban on assault weapons at vigil for US mass shooting victims

  • Biden is hoping to exert greater pressure on lawmakers to pass legislation before his party loses control of Congress next month
  • The vigil memorialised the 10th anniversary of the December 14 Sandy Hook junior school shooting that killed 26 people

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US President Joe Biden speaks at the 10th annual national vigil for all victims of gun violence at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Washington on Wednesday. Photo: Bloomberg
Reuters
President Joe Biden on Wednesday renewed vows to secure a new ban on assault weapons in the United States as he turns up heat on lawmakers to pass legislation before his party loses control of Congress next month.

Lawmakers have shown little inclination to outlaw assault weapons since a ban on high-capacity firearms expired in 2004, but Biden is hoping to seize on outrage about the regularity of shootings to lead to greater pressure on them to change their mind.

“We did it before,” Biden said of the ban at a vigil for victims of gun violence at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Washington. “We did it, and guess what? It worked … We can do it again.”

The two-hour candlelight vigil, organised by the “Newtown Action Alliance,” memorialised the 10th anniversary of the December 14, 2012, Sandy Hook junior school shooting, when 20 first-grade students and six adults were murdered by a gunman with a semi-automatic rifle in Newtown, Connecticut.

“Guns are now the number one killer of children in America, and we are asked to be brave while hiding under our desks in our classrooms, while too many elected officials lack the courage to pass common-sense laws to save our lives,” said Jackie Hegarty, a student who survived the shooting, introducing Biden at the vigil.

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