White House dodges question on whether 'assault weapons' ban will lead to 'confiscation'
Jean-Pierre doesn't say whether Biden supports confiscating millions of semi-automatic rifles
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dodged a question Wednesday on whether President Biden’s proposed "assault weapons" ban will lead to the confiscation of millions of semi-automatic rifles from law-abiding Americans.
Biden on Tuesday renewed his call for an "assault weapons" ban, claiming there is a "moral price to pay for inaction" by Republican lawmakers who oppose such a measure after a 28-year-old transgender former student allegedly gunned down three 9-year-olds and three adults at a Christian private school in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday.
Jean-Pierre was asked during her daily press briefing whether the president supported "not just banning the sale and the manufacture of semi-automatic weapons, but further than that, confiscation."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Let me just be very clear," the press secretary responded. "What we're talking about, AR15s, this assault weapons ban, they are weapons of war, and they not be on the streets across the country in our communities. They should not be in schools. They should not be in grocery stores. They should not be in churches. That's what the president believes, and he has done more than any other president the first two years on the executive order."
President Biden speaks during the Summit for Democracy virtual plenary on "Democracy Delivering on Global Challenges" in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"As you know, we all know how government works," Jean-Pierre continued. "There's only so much that he can do. And so now it's time for Congress to do the work. And he's happy to sign, once that happens, he's happy to sign that legislation that says, ‘OK, we're going to remove assault weapons — we're going have an assault weapons ban."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A moment earlier, the same reporter had asked the press secretary for the president’s response to some Republicans who argue that there are "25 million of these devices out there in circulation in the homes of millions of Americans and therefore, you can't ban them."
"That's unacceptable," Jean-Pierre fired back. "That's our response. It's unacceptable that Republicans are saying that there's nothing that we can do. Our schools, our churches, our places of worships have now become deadly places for many Americans who have lost their lives. Just this past year."
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre listens as National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby speaks during a daily news briefing at the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room in the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 22, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
"I ask Republicans, what are you going to say to the families in Nashville at this elementary school who lost their loved ones?" she asked. "That there's nothing else that we can do?"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The reason that there's no assault weapons ban is not because of this president. It's not because of Democrats in Congress," Jean-Pierre added. "Republicans in Congress need to look in the mirror."
Since Monday’s shooting, the White House has been blaming Republicans for inaction on gun control.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., blasted Jean-Pierre for blaming Republicans the very next morning after Monday’s shooting, calling it "shameful."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It doesn't get much lower than blaming Republicans in Congress for a transgender killer who targeted a Christian school. Shameful," Cotton wrote.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images // Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Karine Jean-Pierre doubled down on blaming Republicans during Wednesday’s briefing, saying, "Republicans in Congress need to show some courage."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"If they had courage, they would be introducing legislation on banning assault weapons today. That's what they would be doing today," she said. "They refuse to show some courage and do anything about it. And that's shameful."