Biden talks gun safety after son found guilty in gun case

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US President Joe Biden, on Tuesday, touted his efforts to reduce gun violence and called for further restrictions on firearms at a rally in Washington.

“Who in God’s name needs a magazine which can hold 200 shells? Nobody, that’s right.”

The event highlighting his efforts to curb illegal guns came just hours after his son, Hunter Biden, was criminally convicted for illegally possessing a firearm while using drugs.

On stage, the Democratic president did not mention his son’s conviction. He spoke instead of his visits with families who had lost loved ones to gun violence and pointed toward the two-year anniversary of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

“It’s the most significant gun legislation in nearly 30 years. It was designed to reduce gun violence and save lives. And I’m so proud of the tremendous progress we made since then.”

That legislation was spurred by mass shootings at a Texas elementary school and a New York supermarket. The law established new criminal offenses for the straw-purchasing of firearms by buyers who lie about the gun’s intended owner, among other provisions.
And Biden underscored what he said were his administration’s investments in public safety.

“The year before I came to the presidency, [the] murder rate was the highest increase on record. Last year, we saw the largest decrease of murder in history.”

Meanwhile, the Democratic president faces a tough battle against former President Donald Trump to win a second term in the November presidential election.

Just last month, Trump won the endorsement of the nation’s top gun rights group and has pledged to unravel gun regulations put in place by Biden.

The president is set to return to Wilmington, Delaware later in the day to be with his son.