The White House upped the pressure on Congress and states to take tougher action on guns in the wake of the country’s latest mass shooting in Indianapolis, saying the president would not give up simply because the politics of the issue present “perplexing” challenges.
Last week, President Joe Biden issued executive actions to clamp down on unregistered “ghost guns” and stabilizing braces that make handguns more deadly.
THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR WHEN BIDEN MEETS JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER
But the issue has taken on fresh urgency with a string of recent shootings — though Republicans in Congress and even some Democrats from purple states and districts are leery of passing any legislation to address the matter.
A gunman killed eight employees at a FedEx facility in Indiana late Thursday night.
Biden said he was ordering flags to fly at half staff at the White House and other federal buildings and embassies, just two weeks after he had last done so.
“Last night and into the morning in Indianapolis, yet again, families had to wait to hear word about the fate of their loved ones. What a cruel wait and fate that has become too normal and happens every day somewhere in our nation,” he said.
“Gun violence is an epidemic in America,” he said. “But we should not accept it. We must act.”
Earlier, his press secretary Jen Psaki said the president had been briefed on the killings.
“The president has spent his entire career working to address gun violence, and his determination to act has been redoubled by senseless killings. We’ve seen both in mass shootings like this and in the lives lost to the epidemic of gun violence every single day in communities across our country,” she said. “We can’t afford to wait as innocent lives are taken.”
She added that tackling gun violence remained a priority.
“He would tell you that we can’t give up just because it’s hard, just because the politics are perplexing, which they are, given more than 80% of the public supports universal background checks, and yet the Senate has not moved forward,” she said.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
She said the president’s domestic policy team was focused on the matter, and there was no need to appoint a guns czar.
“This is a constant discussion and issue around this White House, so it’s not going to require a czar,” she said. “It is ultimately a priority to the President of the United States, which is the most important factor.”
