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FIRST ON FOX: Several Republican lawmakers blasted President Biden over his suggestion of banning 9mm handguns while speaking to a gaggle of reporters, with one pointing out that those guns are the “caliber of choice” for the Secret Service.
Biden turned heads Memorial Day when he claimed that the most popular caliber of gun in America was “high caliber” and that there was “no rational basis” for Americans to use the firearms for protecting themselves or even for “hunting.”
The president also floated the suggestion of banning the guns outright.
“There’s simply no rational basis for it in terms of self-protection, hunting,” Biden claimed on Monday while comparing the difference in damage caused between a 9mm round and a .22-caliber round.
“And remember: the Constitution, Second Amendment are never absolute,” the president continued.
BIDEN CALLS 9MM ‘HIGH-CALIBER WEAPONS,’ SUGGESTS BANNING THEM
Several GOP members of Congress reacted to the president’s words, with Oklahoma Senate candidate Rep. Markwayne Mullin slamming Biden as having “no idea what he’s talking about” and pointing out that the president’s own Secret Service uses the caliber.
“The 9mm is the most popular self-defense round in America, and the caliber of choice for his own Secret Service,” Mullin said. “Biden’s ignorance is a threat to our constitutional liberties.”
“As a husband and father of six who would do anything to protect my family, as well as a Lifetime Member of the NRA, I’m proud to join all law-abiding patriots in strong defense of our Second Amendment rights,” he continued.
“Law-abiding Americans have a constitutional right to protection whether Joe Biden likes it or not,” Rep. Steve Scalise told Fox News Digital.
(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., reacted to Biden’s comments in a Monday email to Fox News Digital by saying Biden “finally admitted how widespread the Socialist-Democrats’ gun control agenda is when he calls for the banning of handguns that citizens use to keep their families safe from criminals.”
“Law-abiding Americans have a constitutional right to protection whether Joe Biden likes it or not,” Scalise continued. “Especially as crime rates soar in Democrat controlled cities across the country, now more than ever Americans are exercising their right to defend themselves from the violent criminals being released on the streets by ‘defund the police’ leftists.”
House Republican Conference chairwoman Elise Stefanik of New York had choice words for Biden, saying he has “forgotten the constitutional right to keep and bear arms is fundamental to preserving our liberty as Americans.”
“As Joe Biden continues to double down on his anti-Second Amendment agenda and threaten the rights of law-abiding gun owners, he has forgotten the constitutional right to keep and bear arms is fundamental to preserving our liberty as Americans,” the number three House Republican said in an email to Fox News Digital. “I will continue to stand up for the Constitution and advocating for increased mental health resources across the country.”
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., says Biden has “forgotten the constitutional right to keep and bear arms is fundamental to preserving our liberty as Americans.”
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Georgia Republican Rep. Austin Scott told Fox News Digital Monday that the president’s gaggle “is proof that Biden has absolutely no idea what he’s talking about.”
Scott added, “9mm handguns are one of the most common used for protection of American homes and families.”
Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., told Fox News Digital that Biden’s comments were “unfathomable.”
“It’s understandable that emotions are running high after the tragedy last week. However, taking away the constitutional rights of law-abiding gun owners won’t solve the problem,” Murphy said. “Millions of Americans know that the 9mm handgun is the most common round used for self-defense. It’s unfathomable that our commander in chief is this out of touch with the American people.”
Biden’s suggestion to ban the most popular pistol in America comes amid the fallout of the tragic Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that saw 19 students and two teachers murdered in cold blood.
Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds told Fox News Digital that the White House can “try and downplay” Biden’s “radical gun control policies,” but he insisted that Americans “should believe every word.”
“The reality is that Biden and his party are coming after your constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Biden’s plan to ban the sale of 9mm firearms would effectively restrict the sale of a gun that represents more than 55% of all weapons manufactured in America,” Donalds continued. “This administration will use the horrific massacre in Texas to rejuvenate their deep desire to restrict law-abiding citizens’ sale, ownership, and use of weapons.”
President Joe Biden speaks to members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, May 30, 2022, after returning from Wilmington, Del.
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
During the same gaggle with reporters, Biden pointed to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. John Cornyn as Republicans he believes he can work with on gun control.
Biden said there was a chance for compromise on gun control with “rational Republicans” such as McConnell, R-Ky., and Cornyn, R-Texas, though he warned that there is not much he can do on his own through executive action.
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The president pointed to the possibility of expanding background checks and limiting the sale of certain weapons, noting that such proposals would have to come from legislative negotiation with the GOP and are not the kind of things he could do unilaterally.
But Biden expressed optimism that some Republicans may be willing to take his side on the issue after McConnell directed Cornyn to attempt to work with the White House on a potential compromise, arguing that some members of the GOP believe that the current rash of gun violence cannot go unchecked.
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Lee contributed reporting.
