President Joe Biden promised a range of rapid action on gun control but said his next major initiative will be a renewal of America’s infrastructure.
Two major attacks within a week have increased pressure on Biden to enact gun control measures.
He was asked about campaign promises to send legislation on manufacturer liability to Congress or to take action on so-called “ghost guns” at his first White House press conference on Thursday.
“All of the above, it is a matter of timing,” he said, before quickly pivoting to infrastructure.
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This week he urged Congress to ban assault weapons and tighten background checks on gun sales in the aftermath of the Colorado mass shooting. Ten people were shot dead in Boulder as the nation’s flags were at half-mast to mark the eight victims of a gunman in Atlanta, Georgia, the week before.
“I don’t need to wait another minute, let alone an hour, to take common sense steps or save the lives in the future, and to urge my colleagues in the House and Senate to act,” he said. “We can ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in this country once again.”
However, he must face Republican opposition and the Senate filibuster if he is to make progress on legislation.
The White House has also suggested that he may use executive actions to take unilateral action, such as requiring background checks on “ghost guns,” which are handmade or self-assembled firearms that don’t have serial numbers.
On Thursday, asked about his gun plans, he suggested that the time might not be quite right.
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“As you have all observed, successful presidents … better than me … have been successful in large part because they know how to time what they are doing, order, decide on priorities, what needs to be done,” he said. “The next major initiative I’ll be announcing on Friday in Pittsburgh in detail is to rebuild the infrastructure, both physical and technological infrastructure of this country, so we can compete and create significant numbers of really good-paying jobs.”
