During an interview for Univision, which was filmed on April 3 and aired on April 9, President Biden said that he is open to enacting further gun control by executive action, bypassing Congress. He had harsh words for former President Trump’s pledge to NRA members that he would make sure that nobody comes after privately-owned firearms, should he win the election this November.
While trumpeting his past legislative and executive accomplishments on the the issue, he said that it was “not enough.” Biden vowed that should he win re-election, especially if the Democrats recapture a congressional majority, he will “eliminate” what he calls “these weapons.”
The exchange opened when Enrique Acavedo, who was conducting the interview, asked what Biden intends to do in order to reduce gun violence against children if re-elected. Biden responded by boasting of his record on gun control, citing the 1993 Assault Weapon Ban. He maintained his stance that there is no legitimate reason for a civilian to own an AR-15 or a large capacity magazine. He said that as a former law professor who taught second amendment law, he knows that there have always been limits on civilian weapons, and claimed that civilians were never allowed to own cannon.
This is not the first time Biden has claimed that civilians have been limited from owning cannon or other large weapons, despite the fact that there was a thriving private trade in cannon through the early 20th century. While modern artillery is restricted from private hands by the 1968 Gun Control Act, old-fashioned muzzle-loading cannon continue to be legal in private hands (though some states restrict them).
Recent Supreme Court decisions on longstanding issues like abortion and gun control, long expected to put culture-war issues to bed, have instead intensified rhetoric on all sides of the culture war debates. These issues, as well as immigration, may play a large role at the ballot box this November.
