(PresidentialWire.com)- According to President Joe Biden, the last significant action taken to reduce gun violence was the 1994 assault weapons ban, which he helped pass. Even while it falls short of the plan he promised, he aims to end that 28-year dry spell by signing a bipartisan piece of legislation into law later this year.
In 1994, as part of a more considerable crime measure, Biden, a senator from Delaware, contributed to introducing an assault weapons ban that would later become contentious.
Following a coordinated effort on Capitol Hill to address a spate of deadly mass shootings in the US, a bipartisan group of senators unveiled a proposal on Sunday to reduce gun violence. Reforms will try to stop unlawful sales, provide money for mental health and school safety, and implement policies protecting domestic violence victims. The legislation is still being prepared.
Biden had advocated for a complete ban on assault weapons, raising the semi-automatic rifle purchase age to 21, limiting magazine size, and denouncing 9 mm firearms, which he said can “blow the lung out of the body.” None of those suggestions seem to be included in the bipartisan proposals.
However, even before the full wording of the measure is released, the White House is firmly in favor of it.
Karine Jean-Pierre, the press secretary for the White House, said on Monday, “this is about preserving lives, and the President wants Congress to take action. “We’re going to concentrate on getting this on his desk as soon as possible,“ she said.
The most significant victory for the anti-gun movement in American history came with the 1994 ban on high-capacity magazines and semi-automatic guns. However, that law was repealed in 2004, and ever since, Biden has been indelibly linked to failed initiatives to reinstate gun control laws.
Ten Democrats and ten Republicans comprise the bipartisan group of senators, suggesting that the group may have the necessary support for full approval if the 50-50 chamber is maintained.
It’s unclear how valuable those suggestions will be in practice, primarily because many of the specifics are still being worked out. The libertarian-leaning Cato Institute’s constitutional studies fellow Trevor Burrus voiced cautious optimism about the options on the table.
He said that looking at the law’s wording as it is released will be crucial. There are undesirable and superior approaches to creating those laws.
He declared, “The devil is in the details.”
Perhaps the bipartisan group will realize that the problem is the devil, not the gun.
