OAN’s Brooke Mallory
12:01 PM – Wednesday, July 5, 2023
President Joe Biden has renewed his call for an assault weapons ban after dozens were killed or injured in mass shootings in the days leading up to Fourth of July celebrations.
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According to officials, a transgender shooter armed with an AR-15-style assault rifle named Kimbrady Carriker was wearing a bulletproof vest and opened fire in Philadelphia’s Kingsessing neighborhood at approximately 8.30 p.m. on Monday night, killing five individuals and injuring two minors, ages two and thirteen. According to arrest records, Carriker has had a lengthy criminal history.
“I can tell you this, the man who did this is in custody… The man who did this will be facing multiple counts of murder and will also be facing multiple counts of aggravated assault as a first-degree felony, weapons charges, among others,” said Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner.
Only a few hours later, in a separate incident, three people were killed and 14 were injured in four different shootings in Fort Worth, Texas.
In a July 4th statement, Biden said he and First Lady Jill Biden were also mourning “tragic and senseless shootings” in Baltimore, Lansing, Chicago, and Wichita.
He stated that it was “within our power” to prohibit AR-15-style rifles and high-capacity magazines while simultaneously requiring safe gun storage and instituting universal background checks.
Biden also mentioned the one-year anniversary of a horrific 2022 shooting that killed seven people at an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois.
Following the massacre, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering collaborated with gun control supporters to make assault weapons and large-capacity magazines illegal in the state.
“Their achievement will save lives. But it will not erase their grief,” Biden said.
“And as we have seen over the last few days, much more must be done in Illinois and across America to address the epidemic of gun violence that is tearing our communities apart.”
Biden urged other states to follow Illinois’ example, as well as Republican members in Congress, to “come to the table on meaningful, commonsense reform.”
Biden claimed gun control was urgently required to safeguard children and teachers in an address to the National Education Association on Tuesday.
“As you know all too well, educators now find themselves in the frontlines of gun violence,” Biden told the association.
“Congress needs to step up, pass common sense gun safety laws to protect our kids and educators, and by the way, arming teachers is not the answer.”
Many opponents of Biden and his administration noted that even in nations where firearms are prohibited, crime numbers continue to rise year after year, implying that occurrences like these are a mental health issue rather than a gun problem. Furthermore, numerous shootings have been halted faster than they would have been if adjacent bystanders did not have weapons to defend themselves against perpetrators.
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