President Joe Biden is being blasted anew by critics after making another foolhardy statement about firearms following a pair of mass shootings last week.
During a press event in Nantucket, Mass., Biden specifically mentioned the shooting in Colorado Springs, Colo., likely because it was more politically expedient for Democrats since it happened at an LGBTQ club, whereas the reported shooter who killed fellow employees at a Virginia Walmart later in the week was black.
“The idea we still allow semi-automatic weapons to be purchased is sick,” Biden said. “Just sick. It has no socially redeeming value. Zero. None. Not a single solitary rationale for it except profit for the gun manufacturers.”
That’s like saying automobiles, which generally kill around the same number of Americans every year as guns, are only around because they enrich makers of motor vehicles.
A reporter then asked Biden if he thought he could make any progress on new gun control laws when Republicans take control of the House in January, responding that he would have to take stock of votes first.
“I’m going to try,” Biden said. “I’m going to try to get rid of assault weapons.”
For the record, Americans cannot purchase true “assault weapons” as those are military-grade and, in many cases, fully automatic.
Several users on social media ripped Biden for his generalization of semi-automatic firearms, which comprise a substantial majority of weapons sold and currently owned by tens of millions of law-abiding Americans.
“So essentially all guns are on the Big Guy’s chopping block,” Hollywood actor James Woods tweeted.
“Wow. Are there any guns Biden would not ban?” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton asked.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., said that Biden was “maligning most gun owners” and added that Americans rejected recent gun control proposals floated by outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Americans rejected Pelosi’s gun control schemes in the mid terms, yet here is Biden saying he wants to ban modern firearms, and maligning most gun owners. https://t.co/8cXyftBx8j
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) November 24, 2022
Missouri’s 4th congressional district U.S. Representative-elect Mark Alford called Biden’s stance on gun laws “sheer ignorance,” going on to cite an article noting that semi-automatic weapons make up 50 percent of all gun sales in America.
Them: Biden doesn’t support gun confiscation. You’re paranoid and opposed to sensible gun reforms and safety.
Him: Assault weapons are semi-automatic and therefore should be banned because it’s sick people lawfully purchase them. https://t.co/c3IfQNB9HI
— Gabriella Hoffman (@Gabby_Hoffman) November 24, 2022
Earlier this year, most Republicans pushed back on Biden’s attempt to get Congress to pass a new ‘assault weapons’ ban, though two dozen Republican senators voted to advance some gun control legislation.
A previous ban on semi-automatic military look-alike guns during President Bill Clinton’s tenure that expired a decade later had virtually no impact on gun deaths during the period, studies found — including one conducted by the U.S. government.
