(Washington) US President Joe Biden again urged Congress on Sunday to ban assault rifles, the day after a shooting at a mall in Texas.
“I again call on Congress to pass legislation banning assault rifles and high-capacity magazines. Implementing criminal and psychiatric background checks. Requiring safe storage [des armes]. Ending the immunity of arms manufacturers,” he said in a statement.
“I will sign her immediately,” he said.
“We need more action, and faster, to save lives,” he said.
“Too many families have empty chairs around their table. Republican members of Congress cannot continue to respond to this epidemic with a shrug. Thoughts and prayers tweeted are not enough,” he said.
On Saturday afternoon, a gunman opened fire at a Dallas, Texas-area shopping mall, killing eight people and injuring several others before being shot dead himself.
PHOTO REUTERS TV VIA REUTERS
A young girl runs as other customers leave the mall where a man opened fire on Saturday in Allen, near Dallas.
Children are among the victims, according to the president.
The United States, where killings are regular, has more individual weapons than inhabitants.
Joe Biden’s call is unlikely to result in a ban on such weapons by Congress. Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, are fiercely opposed.