On Tuesday (January 24), President Joe Biden reiterated his call for an assault weapon ban following the mass shooting in Half Moon Bay, California, which resulted in the deaths of seven individuals.
In a statement, Biden asserted that even as Americans waited on further details surrounding the recent shootings in California, “the scourge of gun violence across America requires stronger action.”
He then urged both Congressional chambers “to act quickly and deliver this Assault Weapons Ban to my desk,” noting it was necessary to “keep American communities, schools, workplaces, and homes safe.”
Half Moon Bay, a city approximately 25 miles from San Francisco, was rocked on Monday (January 23) when seven people were shot and killed, with an eighth sustaining injury, in two related shootings.
The first location was a farm, and the second was another agriculture facility miles away. A 67-year-old has been arrested in connection with the murders, with local authorities revealing a semiautomatic handgun found in his car.
In his statement, Biden pointed to the legislation Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) and others had introduced on Monday after the shooting. The bill includes an assault weapon ban, with a second bill raising the minimum age to purchase firearms to 21.
Biden praised the legislative efforts, citing a string of recent shootings — including one at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs in November and another in Monterey Park, California, earlier this month — as proof stringent gun regulations were necessary.
The Monterey Park shooter used a “9 mm caliber semiautomatic MAC-10 assault weapon,” according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna.
The Colorado Springs shooter used an AR-15.
