President Biden's call for federal gun control laws comes amid a gun violence crisis in Chicago
CHICAGO (CBS) -- "How much carnage are we willing to we accept?" President Joe Biden is asking after he pleaded with Congress, and voters, to get tough with measures against gun violence.
As CBS 2's Jermont Terry reported, President Biden's address comes as several mass shootings shocked the nation. Gun violence and mass shootings have also been a crisis in Chicago in particular in recent weeks and months.
The president wants Congress to take action on what he said are "rational, common-sense measures" to curb gun violence – but such legislation faces an uphill battle in the 50-50 Senate. Thus, we wait to see if any real changes will come from Mr. Biden's plea.
"How much carnage are we willing to accept? How many more innocent American lives must be taken before we say enough? Enough," Mr. Biden said in a primetime address on gun violence delivered from the White House.
The remarks from the president come as the nation grapples with the aftermath of mass shootings in Buffalo, New York; Uvalde, Texas; and Tulsa, Oklahoma. The gunmen in each incident bought the assault rifles within days of carrying out the attacks.
In a symbol of how gun violence is an issue affecting the entire nation, 56 candles representing the 50 states and six U.S. territories lined Mr. Biden's walk to the podium in the Cross Hall before he spoke, according to the White House.
"After Columbine, after Sandy Hook, after Charleston, after Orlando, after Las Vegas, after Parkland, nothing has been done," the president said. "This time that can't be true. This time, we must actually do something."
As he has stressed before, Mr. Biden called for the ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines to be reinstated — nearly 20 years after it expired — but said if that cannot be done, then the minimum purchasing age for semi-automatic weapons should be raised from 18 to 21 years old. He also called for a strengthening of background checks, for safe-storage and red-flag laws to be enacted, and for the immunity that shields gun manufacturers from liability to be repealed.
The president also called for mental health resources to be bolstered, saying there is a "serious youth mental health crisis in this county."
The White House calls the gun violence across the nation an epidemic – and Chicago is far from exempt. In one shocking mass shooting last month, two people were killed and seven were injured outside the McDonald's at Chicago Avenue and State Street on the Near North Side.
President Biden also wants "commonsense" laws that would prevent straw purchases – where a buyer legally picks up a gun and passes it on to someone who can't legally get a weapon.
For one such example, last year, Jamel Danzy was arrested on charges of buying the gun used to kill Chicago Police Officer Ella French.
"Devastated," Danzy told CBS 2's Charlie De Mar in August 2021. "I'm truly devastated still because I wouldn't want that to happen to anybody."
Prosecutors said Danzy used his clean criminal background and lied on a firearms transaction record, required by the Department of Justice, when he purchased the gun from a gun dealer in Hammond.
Danzy is accused of going on to give the gun to Eric Morgan – who is awaiting trial in the shooting that killed Officer French and wounder her partner, Officer Carlos Yanez Jr. Last year, Danzy said he felt horrible about the shooting.
"I'm not a criminal," Danzy said last August. "I'm a good person."
Back in Washington, the president has an uphill battle. At a U.S. House panel meeting, Republican lawmakers slammed the proposal – saying it threatens the Second Amendment. Some brought their own weapons.
But the Democratic-controlled House Judiciary Committee, which met Thursday, did advance a package of bills called the "Protecting Our Kids Act" that would harden the nation's gun laws following a marathon hearing. Action from the full House could come as soon as next week, although it faces steep odds to be passed in the 50-50 Senate, where 60 votes are needed for legislation to be passed.
Friday morning, Senator Dick Durbin will address gun violence at Stroger Hospital alongside doctors who will talk about the severe injuries an AR-15 style rifle can cause.