US President Joe Biden addresses the Supreme Court’s decision to overrule student debt relief in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on June 30, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
President Joe Biden on Tuesday again called for stricter gun controls, including a ban on semi-automatic rifles, after several deadly “tragic and senseless shootings” in the run-up to the July 4 holiday.
At least ten people were killed in mass shootings in Baltimore, Philadelphia and Fort Worth, Texas. Dozens more were injured in the incidents — as well as others in Wichita, Kansas and Lansing, Michigan.
A series of shootings over the holiday weekend in Chicago killed five and wounded at least 30 others, NBC Chicago reports.
“We have the power to re-ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, require safe storage of guns, lift gun manufacturers’ liability immunities, and institute universal background checks,” Biden said in a statement Tuesday.
His comments come a year after a mass shooting at a July 4 parade in Highland Park, Illinois that left seven people dead and nearly 50 others injured.
In January, Illinois banned the sale of semi-automatic guns and high-capacity magazines.
“As we have seen over the past few days, much more needs to be done in Illinois and across America to combat the gun violence epidemic that is tearing our communities apart,” Biden said.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 346 mass shootings in the United States so far this year. The Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people are shot or killed, excluding the gunman.
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