'Come hell or high water': Biden vows to ban assault weapons, high capacity magazines

New Delhi: President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he’s going to ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines “come hell or high water.”

Addressing the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference in Baltimore, Maryland on Wednesday night, he said,”I know it may make some of you uncomfortable, but that little state above me, Delaware is one of them, has the highest rate, one of the highest rates of gun ownership. But guess what? We’re going to ban assault weapons again come hell or high water and high capacity magazines. When we did it last time to reduce mass deaths.”

Biden’s comments come after two students were killed on 13 February at Michigan State University, injuring another six people. The suspected gunman, Anthony McRae, later killed himself before police could arrest him.

A day after the shooting at Michigan State University, and five years after a gunman killed 14 students as well as three educators at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the Biden administration announced that the Justice Department would give $231 million to states to be used for crisis intervention.

The money can also be used for efforts to strengthen red flag programs and efforts to prevent gun violence.

Biden said that the funding can be used to educate members of the public regarding extreme risk protection orders.

“Red flag laws, however, only save lives if community members effectively use this tool. Today’s announcement gives states funding to educate the public about extreme risk protection orders and train law enforcement and other officials regarding this intervention,” Biden said.

Gun violence in the US

A study published in the December 2022 edition of journal Pediatrics says that firearm injuries have become the leading cause of death among people below the age of 24 in the US.

Switzerland-based Small Arms Survey estimates that there are as many as 393 million privately owned firearms in the US – which means 120 guns for every 100 Americans, reported CNN.

Around 45 per cent of adults in the country say they have guns at their homes, as per an October 2022 Gallup survey.

A study published by the Annals of Internal Medicine discovered that 7.5 million US adults became first-time gun owners between January 2019 and April 2021, reported BBC.

The gun homicide rate in America is 26 times that of other high-income countries, and the US gun suicide rate is around 12 times more, according to Everytown Research & Policy.

Last year alone, 648 mass shootings and 44,000 gun-related deaths were seen in the US, as per Gun Violence Archive data.

In 2021, 49,000 people died from firearm injuries in the US, out of which half were suicides, reported AFP.

As per Pew Research, “45,222 people died from gun-related injuries in the US” in 2020.

The bipartisan bill was passed with a majority of 65-33 votes in the Senate, which included 15 Republicans who voted in favour of the gun control measure.

The reforms included strict background checks for gun buyers below 21, funding to encourage states to impose “red flag” laws to remove firearms from people considered a threat to themselves or others, and providing federal funding for mental health programs and security upgrades at schools, reported BBC. 

The bill also penalised straw purchasing — meaning buying firearms on behalf of someone else.

However, the reforms have hardly been successful in curbing gun violence in America as is evident from the regular mass shootings.

Unlike the US, countries such as Australia, South Africa and Britain have achieved “significant changes” after implementing laws to tackle gun-related deaths, as per a CNN report.

With inputs from agencies

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