Calling Gun Violence Destroys the Environment, President Biden Reiterates Gun Control Reform

Illustration of firearms stores in the US. (Wikimedia Commons/Thayne Tuason)

JAKARTA - President Joe Biden says gun violence has devastated neighborhoods in the United States, after mass shootings in three separate locations killed at least 10 people, ahead of the July 4th Independence Day holiday.

In a statement issued by the White House, President Biden said more concrete action was needed to address the epidemic of gun violence that is tearing residential areas apart.

Furthermore, President Biden again touched on the issue of reforming gun control rules, asking members of the US Congress from the Republican Party to discuss this matter with his supporting Democratic Party.

"It is within our power to once again ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, to require safe storage of weapons, to end gun manufacturers' immunity from liability, and to conduct universal background checks," President Biden said. .

Deadly mass shootings invariably reignite the fierce debate about gun control in the United States. President Biden himself is known to have made similar requests before.

It is known, the Second Amendment to the US Constitution which protects the right of citizens of Uncle Sam to own a gun is a burning issue for many Republicans, who receive support from gun rights groups and manufacturers.

The United States itself is struggling with a high number of mass shootings and gun violence incidents this year

There have been more than 340 mass shootings so far in 2023 in the country, according to data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive, which defines mass shootings as incidents in which at least four people are shot, not including the shooter.

President Biden's remarks come after shootings late Monday in Fort Worth, Texas and in Philadelphia, which killed three and five people, respectively.

The previous day, two people were shot dead and 28 injured, about half of them children, in a hail of gunfire at an outdoor neighborhood block party in Baltimore, Maryland.