The horrific mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton that left 31 people dead and dozens more injured have thrust the issue of gun violence into the center of the 2020 presidential campaign — with calls growing louder in the Democratic field for the return of an assault-weapons ban.
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Many in the record-setting field of two-dozen Democratic White House hopefuls already supported the ban, but the weekend tragedies have emboldened those calls as candidates highlight and in some cases build upon their gun control platforms.
Primary front-runner Joe Biden went so far Monday as to say he’s coming for those guns.
The former vice president, in a CNN interview, said that a Biden administration would push for a “national buyback program” to get such firearms “off the street.”
Asked what he’d say to gun owners worried that Biden would be coming for their guns, he quickly answered: “Bingo! You’re right, if you have an assault weapon.”
“The fact of the matter is [assault weapons] should be illegal. Period,” Biden said. “The Second Amendment doesn’t say you can’t restrict the kinds of weapons people can own. You can’t buy a bazooka. You can’t have a flame-thrower.” – READ MORE