Biden Addresses Gun-Control Group Hours After Son’s Firearms Conviction

“More children are killed in America by guns than cancer and car accidents combined,” President Biden said in a speech in Washington.

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Biden Talks About Gun Safety Hours After Son’s Firearms Conviction

President Biden spoke to the nation’s largest gun control group shortly after his son Hunter Biden was convicted in Delaware of three felony counts of lying on a federal firearms application in 2018.

After a school shooting in Iowa that killed a student and a teacher, my predecessor was asked about it. You remember what he said? He said, “Have to get over it.” Hell no, we don’t have to get over it. [cheering] We’ve got to stop it. We’ve got to stop it and stop it now. More children are killed in America by guns than cancer and car accidents combined. My predecessor told the N.R.A. convention recently, he’s proud that, quote, “I did nothing on guns when I was president.” And by doing nothing, he made the situation considerably worse. Folks, look, this is crazy what we’re talking about. Because whether we’re Democrats or Republicans, we want our families to be safe. We all want to drop them off at a house of worship, a mall, a movie theater, a school without worrying that it’s the last time I’m going to get to see them. We all want our kids to have the freedom to learn how to read and write in schools instead of learn how to duck and cover, for God’s sake.

President Biden told the nation’s largest gun-control group on Tuesday that he had secured extensive reforms on firearms safety but acknowledged that he had not achieved several of his priorities.

And he attacked former President Donald J. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, for not doing more to reduce gun violence during Mr. Trump’s term in office.

“More children are killed in America by guns than cancer and car accidents combined,” Mr. Biden said in Washington, at the annual training conference for Everytown for Gun Safety, the group backed by Michael R. Bloomberg, before mentioning Mr. Trump’s connection to the National Rifle Association. “My predecessor told the N.R.A. convention recently, he’s proud of, quote, ‘I did nothing on guns when I was president,’ and by doing nothing, he made the situation considerably worse.”

During Mr. Biden’s speech, which was briefly interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters, he called for a ban on assault weapons, an end to wide-ranging legal immunity for gun manufacturers and the passage of universal background checks.

Mr. Biden was speaking just hours after his son Hunter Biden was convicted in Delaware of three felony counts of lying on a federal firearms application in 2018. In a statement issued by the White House, Mr. Biden said he would “accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal.” He also expressed his “love and support” for his son, who has struggled with drug addiction but who says he has been sober since mid-2019.

Previously, the president had vowed not to pardon Hunter Biden if he were to be found guilty.

He did not address his son’s conviction during his remarks on Tuesday.

Mr. Biden has made gun reform a central part of his administration. In June 2022, one month after a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, he signed a bipartisan gun bill intended to prevent dangerous people from obtaining firearms and increase investments in the nation’s mental health system. The passage of the bill ended nearly three decades of gridlock over gun reform in Washington, although it fell short of many of the sweeping measures sought by Democrats.

At the Everytown conference on Tuesday, Mr. Biden said American politicians needed to do more over gun violence than express their “thoughts and prayers.”

“Look, this is crazy, what we’re talking about, because whether we’re Democrats or Republicans, we want our families to be safe,” he said. “We all want to drop them off at a house of worship, a mall, a movie theater, a school, without worrying it’s the last time I’m going to get to see them. We all want our kids to have the freedom to learn how to read and write in school instead of learn how to duck and cover, for God’s sake.”

Eileen Sullivan contributed reporting from Wilmington, Del.

Nicholas Nehamas is a Times political reporter covering the re-election campaign of President Biden. More about Nicholas Nehamas

See more on: President Joe Biden, U.S. Politics, 2024 Elections, Donald Trump