Joe Biden says he’s ‘determined’ to ban assault weapons
President Joe Biden will deliver a prime-time speech on the “battle for the soul of the nation” this week ahead of the midterm elections later this year.
The White House says that Mr Biden will travel to Philadelphia on Thursday to give the speech at the city’s Independence National Historical Park. The speech will be the president’s second appearance in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania this week, coming after a rally yesterday at which he spoke about his crime prevention plans and gun control legislation.
Celebrating the passage of this year’s gun safety legislation, which he said represented a triumph over the National Rifle Association, Mr Biden insisted he is determined to ban assault weapons from the US.
He also bucked the progressive wing of his party with a promise to fund the police – and declared that Republicans who called 6 January rioters “patriots” cannot justifiably call themselves supporters of law enforcement.
