Biden calls for tighter gun laws after Charlotte shooting. Will Congress take action?

After the Charlotte shooting that killed four law enforcement officers and injured four of their colleagues, President Joe Biden called on Congress to pass tougher gun laws.

“We must do more to protect our law enforcement officers,” Biden said in a statement late Monday evening. “

First, he called for more funding for law enforcement. He then turned his attention to firearms.

“Congressional leaders must step up to ensure we ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, require safe gun storage, and pass universal background checks and a nationwide red flag law,” Biden said. “Enough.”

An AR-15 rifle and a .40-caliber handgun were recovered after the shooting, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings said during a news conference Tuesday.

Shooting

The shooting occurred around 1:30 p.m. when the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force attempted to serve warrants at a home on Galway Drive.

A U.S. marshal, two North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections officers and a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer were killed. Four other people were injured in response to the shooting.

Law enforcement and the suspect exchanged fire, resulting in 39-year-old Terry Clark Hughes Jr. was shot. He later died.

Twelve officers are currently on leave following the shooting after firing their service weapon, which is standard protocol.

CMPD said Hughes was wanted for possession of a firearm and that the perpetrator was a fugitive on two counts to flee Lincoln County.

Two other people were arrested, and during a press conference on Monday, police said they were fully cooperating with the investigation.

Mass shootings in the US this year

Biden’s call to action echoes similar comments he has made after mass shootings during his term as president.

In 2022, after a mass shooting in Raleigh that killed five people and injured several others, Biden called for a ban on assault weapons.

The Charlotte shooting was the 132nd mass shooting in the United States this year, according to gunviolencearchive.org. As of 2020, there are over 600 mass shootings per year in the US.

Gun control legislation

Rhode Island Republican David Cicilline, a Democrat, introduced the Assault Weapons Ban bill in the House on February 1, 2023, with 206 co-sponsors, including six of the seven North Carolina Democrats. The matter was referred to the Judiciary Committee, but no further action was taken.

A similar bill was introduced in the Senate on January 23, 2023 by Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California, with 45 co-authors. The matter was also referred to the Judiciary Committee, but no further action was taken. She has since died.

On both bills, all co-sponsors were Democrats, except Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent senator who is debating with Democrats.

Members of Congress have also introduced bills both supporting and opposing Biden’s other gun regulation demands, but these have suffered a similar fate.

Weapons legislation

Getting Democrats and Republicans to compromise on gun laws has proven to be a challenge in the past.

But in 2022, Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from Mecklenburg County, worked with Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, to draft the largest gun bill to pass Congress in 30 years.

The Tillis-Murphy Act was a direct response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, which killed 19 children and two teachers.

The 80-page bill focused on expanding mental health care, school safety and background checks for gun sales.

This was met with opposition from Second Amendment supporters.

But Tillis said that by Tuesday morning, lawmakers had already put aside partisan differences and found common ground.

“It is therefore deeply disappointing that President Biden is using this terrible attack on our brave law enforcement officers to call for gun control measures that would not have prevented this tragedy, given that the murderer was a convicted felon who had no right to carry or possess a firearm,” Tillis said in a written statement. “Rather than playing partisan politics, President Biden should instead side with the Fraternal Order of Police and support the Bankruptcy Enforcement Act and the Protect and Serve Act to ensure federal prosecutors have all the tools they need to hold violent criminals fully accountable for their attacks.” attacking and killing law enforcement.”

Tillis also sent condolences to the families of the slain officers and prayed for those recovering.

“This is a tragic reminder of the dangers law enforcement faces every day, including issuing warrants to violent criminals,” Tillis said.

Tillis has said in the past that he does not support a ban on semi-automatic weapons, and Budd, who owns a gun store and shooting range, voted against Tillis’ bill and fiercely fights anything that he believes violates his Second Amendment rights.

Building on social media offered prayers to the families of the slain law enforcement officers and told both the U.S. Marshals Service and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department that he sent his condolences and reiterated his support.

On Tuesday, a spokesman for Budd’s office responded to Biden’s call for tougher gun policy, saying: “Senator Budd believes we should keep firearms out of the reach of dangerous people without violating the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners, which President Biden strongly supports gun control proposals would not work. “Instead, President Biden should find the strength to rid his party of elements that call for underfunding the police and encourage violence.”

Rep. Alma Adams, Democrat from Charlotte, called for the law to be improved to prevent more shootings like Charlotte’s, saying “our anguish must turn into action.”