Former Vice President Joe Biden called for a new assault weapons ban in an op-ed in The New York Times Sunday.
Biden, who previously called for a federal gun buyback program and an assault weapons ban after two mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton left 31 people dead and dozens injured, vowed to push for a bill that would ban assault rifles and high capacity magazines, expand background checks, and develop smart gun technology.
Biden did not explain how he would get the bill passed if Democrats do not win the necessary amount of seats in the Senate.
“When you have that kind of broad public support for legislation that will make everyone safer, and it still can’t get through the Senate — the problem is with weak-willed leaders who care more about their campaign coffers than children in coffins,” he wrote.
“If we cannot rise to meet this moment, it won’t just be a political failure,” he added. “It will be a moral one. It will mean that we accept the next inevitable tragedy. That we are desensitized to children running from schools and bodies littering parking lots, that our outpouring of thoughts and prayers will grow increasingly hollow.”
Warren calls for eliminating the filibuster to pass gun legislation:
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren rolled out her own plan, which she says would reduce gun violence by up to 80%, and called for eliminating the filibuster to pass it.
"We've gotta have a leader who's willing to stand up to the gun lobby and say no more. And to take away one of their principal tools, which is the filibuster," she told NPR.
Warren’s plan would also ban assault weapons and expand background checks, but it would also require a license to buy and own guns, target gun traffickers and dealers who break the law, and create an urban gun violence intervention program.
Americans support tougher gun restrictions:
More than 60% of Americans support stricter gun laws, according to a Quinnipiac poll conducted in May, and 73% say more needs to be done to address gun violence.
A July NPR/PBS News poll found that 89% of Americans support expanded background checks, including 84% of Republicans. The May Quinnipiac poll found that 94% back expanded background checks, including 92% of Republicans.
An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll found that 89% wanted Congress to pass a red flag law that would allow a court to remove guns from people deemed a risk to others or themselves.
According to the Quinnipiac poll, 77% support a gun licensing program, including 65% of Republicans.
The NPR/PBS poll also found that 57% support an assault weapons ban, including 83% of Democrats but just 29% of Republicans.
