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As Californians deal with two mass shootings just days apart, President Joe Biden is supporting gun control measures introduced by California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein to renew the 1994 assault-weapons ban. But as White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports, with Republicans controlling the House of Representatives, and the Supreme Court leaning heavily conservative, the legal landscape for more gun control in the U.S. looks bleak.
Content TypePackage
LanguageEnglish
Transcript/ScriptUS Guns (TV)
HEADLINE: Biden Pushing Assault-Weapons Ban Renewal Following Mass Shootings
TEASER: Bill unlikely to pass in Republican-controlled House of Representatives
PUBLISHED: 1/24/2022 at 820p
BYLINE: Patsy Widakuswara
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER:
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: Holly Franko, Jepsen
VIDEO SOURCES: AP, AFP, Reuters
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:11
VID APPROVED BY: Jepsen
TYPE: TV
EDITOR NOTES: Radio track attached.))
((INTRO))
[[As Californians deal with two mass shootings just days apart, President Joe Biden is supporting gun control measures introduced by California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein to renew the 1994 assault-weapons ban. But as White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports, with Republicans controlling the House of Representatives, and the Supreme Court leaning heavily conservative, the legal landscape for more gun control in the U.S. looks bleak.]]
((NARRATOR))
Two days after a gunman killed at least 11 people in Monterey Park as the city’s Asian American community was celebrating Lunar New Year,
((NARRATOR))
shootings in two locations at Half Moon Bay, also in the state of California. At least seven people died.
((Radio track: California Governor Gavin Newsom.))
((Gavin Newsom, California Governor))
“We got serious about these things and led the nation – assault-weapons ban, large-capacity magazines ban, put background checks on ammunition, waiting periods and red flag laws, saving lives. But the federal government hasn't done it.”
((NARRATOR))
California is one of 10 states that prohibit the sale or possession of military-style assault weapons.
((NARRATOR))
California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein is introducing a bill to reinstate a federal ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and raise the minimum age to purchase such weapons to 21. As a senator, President Joe Biden championed the ban in 1994, but it expired in 2004.
((Radio track: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre))
((Karine Jean-Pierre, White House Press Secretary))
“The last time we had an assault-weapons ban on the books, thanks to the president and Senator Feinstein's leadership, mass shootings actually went down. After Republicans let it expire, mass shootings tripled.”
((NARRATOR))
With Republicans in control of the House of Representatives, there’s little chance of the bill passing. Polls show most Republican voters oppose restrictions on the right to bear arms under the Second amendment. And with the conservative-leaning Supreme Court overturning a New York gun safety law in June, other states may find their gun restrictions threatened as well.
((Radio track: Jonathan Metzl, sociologist with a focus on gun policies at Vanderbilt University, via Skype.))
((Jonathan Metzl, Vanderbilt University))
“Nothing will happen really until we address not only everyday [[gun]] legislation, which is important, but really, the Supreme Court that is undermining the gun safety movement right now and in really catastrophic ways.”
((NARRATOR))
There have been 40 mass shootings so far in 2023.
((NARRATOR))
Absent congressional action, Biden is considering more executive actions to deal with reducing gun violence, but such moves can be overturned by a successor.
Last June he signed a bipartisan gun safety bill into law.
((NARRATOR))
It strengthened background checks for gun buyers under 21 and gave incentives for states to pass so-called red flag laws that make it easier to remove weapons from people deemed a threat to themselves or others.
Patsy Widakuswara, VOA News, Washington.
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Washington D.C.
Embargo DateJanuary 24, 2023 19:55 EST
BylinePatsy Widakuswara, VOA News, Washington.
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
