US President Joe Biden on Thursday branded US gun violence an “epidemic” and an “international embarrassment” at a White House ceremony to unveil his first attempt at getting the problem under control.
“This is an epidemic, for God’s sake, and it has to stop,” he said, calling shootings “a public health crisis.”
“It’s an international embarrassment,” the Democrat, flanked by Attorney General Merrick Garland and Vice President Kamala Harris, told Congress members and gun control activists in the Rose Garden.
“Enough prayers,” Biden said. “Time for some action.”
Several hours after Biden’s announcement, a gunman opened fire at a Texas cabinetry plant where he was employed, killing one person and sending four others to the hospital in critical condition. No motivation was immediately known.
With Congress unable to agree on broad new gun regulations, like stricter background checks for gun buyers, Biden announced six executive measures which he said would help tamp down the crisis. Republicans immediately attacked the proposal, with the party’s senior leader in the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, warning of “unconstitutional overreach.”
