Guns turning US neighbourhoods into ‘killing fields’

US President Joe Biden said yesterday that a flood of guns is turning US communities into “killing fields” and vowed to reinstate a ban on assault rifles.In a White House ceremony to mark new gun control legislation that he signed on June 25, he said that it is the first significant progress in 30 years, but did not go far enough to rein in US gun violence.The law includes provisions to help states keep guns out of the hands of those deemed to be a danger to themselves or others.It also blocks gun sales to those convicted of abusing unmarried intimate partners and cracks down on gun sales to purchasers convicted of domestic violence.The gun bill came the same week as the Supreme Court expanded gun owners’ rights.Gun control has long been a divisive issue in the nation, with several attempts to put new controls on gun sales failing time after time.“This has taken too long, with too much of a trail of bloodshed and carnage,” Biden said. “The past many years, across our schools, places of worship, workplaces, stores, music festivals, nightclubs, and so many other everyday places, they have turned into killing fields.”Biden cited recent mass shootings that left 19 students and two teachers dead at the primary school in Uvalde, Texas, 10 dead at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, and seven killed at a Highland Park, Illinois July 4 parade.In addition, Biden said, every day there are “tragic killings that don’t make the headlines”.“Neighbourhoods and streets have been turned into killing fields as well,” he said.Biden pledged to restore a ban on assault rifles that existed from 1994 to 2004.Congress has shown little inclination to outlaw assault weapons after a ban on such weapons expired in 2004, but Biden is hoping to use growing American outrage about mass shootings to lead to greater pressure on lawmakers to change their mind.After it was lifted, millions of the high-powered semi-automatic war weapons were sold across the country, and used repeatedly in mass shootings.“Assault weapons need to be banned. They were banned ... I’m determined to ban these weapons again, and high-capacity magazines,” he said. “I’m not going to stop until we do it.”Biden also called for legislation that would require gun owners to store their guns securely in homes, saying he himself did so with the shotguns he owns – two his, and two of his late son.“I have four shotguns ... that are locked up,” he said. “Every responsible gun owner that I know does that.”Biden said he supports the constitutional right to bear arms, but also pointed out that guns have become the number one killer of children across the country.“We also have a right to live freely, without fear for our lives,” he said.Biden was joined by Vice-President Kamala Harris at the event on the White House South Lawn.In the audience were many members of Congress who approved the legislation and family members of some of the people killed in mass shootings.