During last Wednesday’s press briefing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre avoided answering a question on whether President Biden’s proposed “assault weapons ban” would include confiscating the millions of legally purchased firearms owned by Americans.
When a reporter asked about the Republicans’ argument that there are tens of millions of AR-15s owned by American citizens making it impossible to ban them, Jean-Pierre called the argument “unacceptable.”
Blaming Republicans for the lack of an “assault weapons ban,” Jean-Pierre said Republicans should “look in the mirror.”
When the reporters followed up by asking if the president supports not only banning the manufacture and sale of semi-automatic rifles but also confiscation, Jean-Pierre avoided the question, noting instead that the “assault weapons ban” is about AR-15s, which she described as “weapons of war.”
Jean-Pierre said that there is only so much the president can do and Congress must “do the work” and pass the “assault weapons ban.” She said once Congress passes the ban, Biden is “happy to sign it.”
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In the first two years of Biden’s presidency, Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress and failed to enact an “assault weapons ban.” Likewise, when Democrats controlled both chambers during Barack Obama’s presidency, they never passed an “assault weapons ban.”
Since last Monday’s deadly shooting at a Tennessee Christian school, the White House has once again been demanding Congress pass an “assault weapons ban.”
On Tuesday, Jean-Pierre appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” where she railed against Republican lawmakers, demanding to know what they planned to tell the parents of the three children murdered in Tennessee. She said Republicans owe it to the parents to “show some courage” and vote for an “assault weapons ban.”
In response to Jean-Pierre’s “Morning Joe” appearance, Senator Tom Cotton (R-AK) blasted the press secretary, saying it was “shameful” to point fingers at Republican lawmakers after a “transgender killer” targeted a Christian school.
