Biden Ignores Suspect's Identity, Pushes for Gun Control in Colorado Massacre Statement
President Joe Biden called for the passage of massive gun control legislation on Tuesday in the wake of a mass shooting at a Colorado grocery store, despite admitting he did not know all of the facts of that massacre.
On Monday, 21-year-old suspect Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa of Aravda, Colorado, allegedly killed 10 people at a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Fox News reported.
Reuters shared a video of a man believed to be the suspect being arrested:
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT – Police in Boulder, Colorado, reported an ‘active shooter’ at a King Soopers grocery store, and aerial footage broadcast live from the scene by local media showed one person being placed in an ambulance and a man in handcuffs https://t.co/9j5m64WvXz pic.twitter.com/wREnM43QsH
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 22, 2021
The man’s alleged motive is not yet confirmed. Alissa is charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and one charge of attempted murder.
Biden addressed the country Tuesday in brief remarks and stated he would not speculate about the shooting the way he did with last week’s Atlanta-area Asian massage spa shootings. In those slayings, the White House was quick to assign blame to anti-Asian sentiment across the country.
“[W]hatever the motivation, we know this: Too many Asian Americans have been walking up and down the streets worrying,” Biden said at Emory University last week, according to an official White House transcript of his remarks. “They’ve been attacked, blamed, scapegoated and harassed.”
“Silence is complicity. We cannot be complicit,” he added. “We have to speak out. We have to act.”
Biden on Tuesday addressed the shooting by calling for the passage of gun control legislation, including a ban on so-called “assault weapons” and high-capacity magazines.
“I don’t need to wait another minute, let alone an hour, to take common-sense steps that will save lives in the future,” Biden said. “This should not be a partisan issue.”
Less than a week after the horrific murders of eight people in Georgia, another American city has been scarred by gun violence. Tune in as I deliver remarks. https://t.co/yU7ReRfFko
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 23, 2021
He urged the Senate to take up anti-gun bills passed by the Democratic-majority House this month. He did not mention the name or background of the alleged Colorado shooter, whom The New York Times reported was born in Syria.
H.R. 8 would prevent non-family members from transferring firearms to one another while using the FBI criminal background check system. That bill would essentially create a trail for the federal government to track weapons passed between friends or neighbors.
H.R. 1446, meanwhile, would close what Democrats and gun-control advocates often call the “Charleston loophole,” which protects prospective gun buyers from being held up for longer than three business days if the FBI fails to deny them a background check. That bill proposes gun buyers wait 10 business days in the event they are placed on a background check hold.
Biden also called for an all-out ban on “assault weapons” and their accessories in a presumptive nod to a bill introduced by Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California two weeks ago.
The Assault Weapons Ban of 2021 is essentially a revamped version of the Feinstein co-sponsored 1994 ban on some weapons that expired in 2004. The new bill would outlaw the production of sporting rifles like the AR-15 platform of rifles and also some shotguns.
Additionally, that bill would outlaw sales of those weapons and magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. The Assault Weapons Ban of 2021 actually proposes to ban 205 common guns by name.
“It’s been 17 years since the original Assault Weapons Ban expired, and the plague of gun violence continues to grow in this country,” Feinstein, 87, said when releasing the bill. “To be clear, this bill saves lives.”
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
