President Biden Urges Stricter Gun Laws After Nation Loses 18 Lives in 2 Separate Mass Shootings

Two horrific mass shootings over the last two weeks that claimed the lives of 18 innocent people have shaken the nation and resurfaced an ongoing national conversation about gun reform.

President Joe Biden said Tuesday that a legislative ban on assault rifles and high-capacity ammunition magazines should "not be a partisan issue," according to reports.

Biden urges that Congress should not "wait another minute" to enact laws that could protect Americans from widespread gun violence that has left so many individuals and families stricken with grief.

The president has been tight-lipped regarding details of the attacks but has publicly said that conversations between the president, Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and F.B.I director Christopher A. Wray will continue, The New York Times reported.

Just less than a week before the Colorado attacks, a gunman opened fire on three businesses in and around Atlanta, Georgia, killing eight people. 

"Another American city has been scarred by gun violence and the resulting trauma," Biden said.

He shed light on two bills passed by the House earlier this month and now called for the Senate to pass them quickly. Introduced after the 2018 Parkland mass shooting, the first of these bills calls for prolonged background checks to private sellers and an extended time-limit to conduct the checks, the Times reported.

While the shooter's motive from Boulder remains unclear, the 21-year-old suspect, identified as Ahmad Al Aliiwi Alissa, has been charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder, according to CBS News. Police said he killed individuals ranging from ages 20 to 65.

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