Biden takes fire after vowing to ‘ban assault weapons’

By Casey Harper (The Center Square)

President Joe Biden pledged in a speech late Wednesday to ban “assault weapons” but critics were quick to push back.

Biden made the remarks during his remarks at the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference.

“I know I’m going to make some of you uncomfortable, but the little state above me in Delaware — which has the highest rate — has one of the highest rates of gun ownership,” Biden said. “But guess what? We’re going to ban assault weapons again, come hell or high water.

Biden called it “high-capacity magazines.” Those comments sparked pushback from critics who pointed to their Second Amendment protections.

“Loss of life is a tragedy whenever it occurs,” the U.SS. Rep. Bob Goode, R-Va., told Center Square in response to Biden’s comments. “At the same time, the Second Amendment is not subject to interpretation by bureaucrats in Washington and cannot be taken away by Congress. Instead of confiscating guns from law-abiding Americans, our priorities are protecting and equipping our police and cracking down on violent crime.

RELATED: Bearing Arms Editor Cam Edwards Talks Second Amendment Battle, How Anti-Gun Advocates Are Trying To Rewrite Laws

Biden has taken a series of executive actions that push the boundaries of his constitutional authority, such as the eviction ban and the COVID orders, leading to legal challenges and rulings that push back Biden’s agenda.

The US Supreme Court recently strengthened gun rights. Last summer, the high court struck down a New York gun law that required residents to prove they had “good cause” to obtain a permit to carry a firearm outside the home.

As The Center Square previously reported, the court ruled 6-3, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing the opinion. “The Court recognized that the Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect the right of the average, law-abiding citizen to possess a handgun in the home for self-defense,” Roberts wrote.

Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., introduced the “Assault Weapons Ban” in January, which would prohibit the “sale, transfer, manufacture and importation of military-style assault weapons. and high-capacity magazines and other high-capacity ammunition feeding devices.”

“It’s time we stand up to the gun lobby and take these weapons of war off our streets, or at least keep them out of the hands of young people,” Feinstein said in a statement.

RELATED: Black Americans’ Gun Ownership Soars As Democrats Push For Gun Control

A companion bill has support from more than 200 Democrats but has not passed either chamber in this Congress.

“President Biden did not have the votes in Congress to pass this ineffective and unconstitutional measure even when Democrats controlled the House,” Heritage Senior Legal Fellow Amy Swerer told The Center Square. “They certainly don’t have the votes now, even less now than in previous years when recent polls showed support for this type of law.”

“Unless the president plans to take away Americans’ Second Amendment rights by executive fiat (a true ‘come hell, high water, or constitutional crisis’ scenario), it’s hard to see anything more than a president blowing smoke in favor of Gun Control, Inc,” he added.

Syndicated with permission from The Center Square.