Report shows US gun deaths reached record levels during COVID pandemic
A new report indicates that a spike in firearm fatalities coincided with record gun sales in 2020 and 2021.
LEARN MOREPosted: 7:37 p.m. EDT Jun 16, 2023
U.S. President Joe Biden celebrated one year since the passage of the nation’s first major gun safety law in 30 years on Friday.
This time last year the Senate passed the bipartisan Safer Communities Act. The law includes millions of dollars for mental health, school safety, and crisis intervention programs.
It also toughened background checks for young gun buyers.
But while at the Safer Community Summit in Connecticut, the president urged Congress for new restrictions.
"Prayers are fine. They’re important ... but it’s not going to stop it," President Biden said. "If this Congress refuses to act, we need a new Congress."
The president highlighted that the current law has already provided more than $230 million for states to expand the use of tools like the red flag laws, and allowed the FBI to run enhanced background checks on young people under 21 trying to buy a firearm, which have led to them blocking over 200 transactions.
However, Biden believes a lot more can be done and advocated for stronger measures, such as universal background checks and the ban of assault weapons, proposals that now form part of his 2024 election agenda, mainly because he believes that as a nation the U.S. has "reached a tipping point."
"We all want our kids to have the freedom to learn to read and to write instead of learning how to duck and cover in a classroom," said President Biden. "And above all, we all agree: We are not finished."
