‘I Can’t Dictate This Stuff’: Biden Says Gun Reform Legislation is Congress’ Responsibility
23:45 GMT 30.05.2022 (Updated: 20:35 GMT 19.10.2022)
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While President Joe Biden has pledged to continue pushing for GOP lawmakers to back “common sense” gun reform legislation after the recent slaying of 19 students and two adults in Uvalde, Texas, and the racially-motivated massacre of 10 Black people in Buffalo, New York, he has yet to even meet with Republicans to lay any related groundwork.
On Monday, US President Joe Biden disclosed to reporters on the White House’s South Lawn that it is ultimately up to Congress–not him–to carry out changes to background checks and bans on certain firearms.
“I can do the things I’ve done and any executive action I can take, I’ll continue to take. But I can’t outlaw a weapon. I can’t change a background check. I can’t do that,” the US president said after stepping off Marine One.
“I can’t dictate this stuff,” Biden emphasized, speaking of gun reform legislation.
Telling reporters it’s up to Congress to outlaw assault weapons and strengthen background checks for gun sales, President Biden said, “I can’t dictate this stuff.” pic.twitter.com/OfKRreoPqH
— Moshe Schwartz (@YWNReporter) May 30, 2022
While the US president has yet to meet with Republican leadership over the issue, he did appear hopeful that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) will recognize that the US “can’t continue like this.”
“McConnell is a rational Republican. Cornyn is as well,” Biden said. “I think there’s a recognition on their part that they — we can’t continue like this. We can’t do this.”
Cornyn has been appointed by McConnell to lead GOP negotiations with Democrats.
The recent events have prompted some GOP lawmakers, such as Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), to back the idea of exploring legislation that would make it difficult for teens to procure guns.
Like the Buffalo shooting suspect, the gunman in the Uvalde incident was identified as an 18-year-old.
“It's going to depend on what it [the legislation] looks like because there's a lot of nuances on what constitutes, you know, certain things,” Kinzinger told CNN on Sunday, arguing that GOP lawmakers need to do more to bring about reasonable solutions.
He also expressed support for a proposed ban on AR-15-style rifles, or added requirements to own such a weapon.
Despite growing support for gun reform in the US House of Representatives, GOP lawmakers in the US Senate have remained a constant roadblock for Democratic-led efforts, including two bills passed by the House in March 2021 that seek to enhance the background check process for prospective gun owners in the US and close up loopholes in the nation’s gun legislation, such as those allowing gun show and online purchases of firearms to occur without the same checks as an in-person purchase.
While the US Senate is not in session this week, Sen. Cornyn and a bipartisan group of US senators are set to meet over Zoom on Tuesday to discuss a possible framework for moving forward on gun reform. Cornyn has said that certain facets of gun reform should be left to state governments.
Gun reform advocates have blasted Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) for proclaiming last week that the pathway to solving the US’ mass shooting issue is “more law enforcement resources,” rather than additional legislation.
Research suggests that the placement of cops or resource officers at schools is actually detrimental to children’s development and learning experience.
The US lawmaker from Texas has notably raked in more than $440,000 from gun rights supporters, according to OpenSecrets.
