President Biden vows to push for assault weapons ban amid several recent shootings

US President Joe Biden vowed on Thursday to renew his efforts to implement a nationwide assault weapons ban following a rash of mass shootings across the country in recent days. 

Speaking to reporters on Thanksgiving Day from Nantucket, Massachusetts, Biden referred to the ongoing sale of assault weapons in the United States “sick,” and said the availability of such weapons “has no … social redeeming value. Zero. None. Not a single solitary rationale for it except profit for the gun manufacturers.”

The president vowed to ramp up efforts to pursue a ban on assault weapons even during the current lame duck session of Congress while the Democratic-led House of Representatives winds down its term in control and prepares to hand over control to Republicans in January.

Asked whether he believes he can accomplish any meaningful gun control legislation in the next few weeks, Biden responded, “I’m going to try. I’m going to try to get rid of assault weapons … I got to make that assessment as I get in and start counting the votes.”

Biden’s comments come after a series of mass shootings that have made headlines in recent days, including a Virginia Walmart shooting that left 6 people dead and a mass shooting at an LGBTQ+ club in Colorado Springs last weekend.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 611 mass shootings in the United States in