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President Biden said that Americans should not vote for any midterm candidate who does not support the assault weapon ban, after several Democrat representatives seeking re-election voted against the ban in July.
During a rally for Maryland gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore Thursday, Biden told the crowd of supporters that he is going to ban assault weapons, and then proceeded to tell the crowd not to vote for individuals who would not support the ban.
“This November, you have to ask every candidate, are you for banning assault weapons or not? And if you’re not, we’re not going to vote for you. Period,” Biden said in his speech.
ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN PASSED IN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
President Biden said in his speech that Democrats will “ban assault weapons” if they keep the majority this fall.
(Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The assault weapon ban passed in the House of Representatives in July on a 217-213 vote, following the Democrats’ push for a ban on semi-automatic weapons after recent mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York. The bill was sent to the Senate, where it has not received a vote.
BIDEN SAYS SECOND AMENDMENT IS ‘NOT ABSOLUTE’ IN CALL TO REINSTATE ASSAULT WEAPON BANS
Five sitting House Democrats opposed the assault weapon ban, including three vulnerable Democrats who are facing tough re-election races this fall.
Democrat Henry Cuellar, who represents Texas’ 28th Congressional District, was among those who opposed the ban on assault weapons.
(Kevin Dietsch)
Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, Rep. Vincente Gonzalez, D-Texas, and Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, are the three Democrats seeking re-election who voted against the assault weapon ban.
Fox News Digital’s reached out to the vulnerable Democrats, asking them their thoughts on Biden telling Americans not to vote for them in November. None of them responded.
In Biden’s speech, he also fired shots at the Republican Party, calling them “semi-fascist” and claiming that “The MAGA Republicans don’t just threaten our personal rights and economic security. They’re a threat to our very democracy. They refuse to accept the will of the people. They embrace — embrace — political violence. They don’t believe in democracy.”
Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, was also one of the Democrats seeking re-election who voted against the assault weapon ban.
(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Republicans have taken a different stance on guns, calling for attention to be directed towards America’s mental health crisis rather than supporting the assault weapons ban.
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott talked about the ban following the Uvalde school shooting in his state, highlighting how he feels there is a mental health crisis, rather than an assault weapon issue.
“Ever since Texas has been a state, an 18-year-old has been able to buy a long gun. It’s only in the last decade or two when we had school shootings… So for a century and a half, 18-year-olds could buy rifles, and we didn’t have school shootings, but we do now. Maybe we’re focusing our attention on the wrong thing,” Abbott said.
