JAKARTA - United States President Joe Biden called on Congress to certify a ban on assault weapons, after six people were killed in a shooting at a school in Nashville, Tennessee on Monday, the White House said.
"We have to do more to stop violence with firearms. This is tearing our community apart," President Biden said at the White House.
"I again ask Congress to certify the ban on assault weapons," President Biden continued.
President Biden, a Democratic politician, has repeatedly called for a ban on assault weapons and stricter rules on arms sales, measures that must go through Congress.
"This (shooting) hurts," said President Biden.
However, with the House of Representatives being controlled by Republicans, the new firearms security law is unlikely to be passed this year, lawmakers say.
"How many more children should be killed, before members of Congress from Republicans will step up and act to pass the ban on assault weapons, close gaps in the background inspection system, or require safe weapons storage?" White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters before President Biden spoke.
It is known that the shooter in Nashville, who was shot dead by police, had at least two semi-automatic rifles and a gun, police said at first. Police later said that the shooter had one semi-automatic rifle and two pistols.
At the state level, Tennessee in 2021 abolished the permit requirement to carry a hidden gun and now allows anyone 21 years of age and older to carry firearms, both open and hidden, without permission, as long as they are legally allowed to buy the weapon.
However, possessing a pistol is prohibited in Tennessee for anyone convicted of committing a criminal act involving violence or drugs.
So far there have been 89 shootings in schools - defined as incidents where firearms were released on school properties - the United States throughout 2023, according to K-12 School Shooting Database, a website founded by researcher David Riedman.
Meanwhile, last year there were 303 similar shooting incidents, the highest from previous years in the database, which began in 1970.
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