Biden says he would sign gun legislation immediately if he could

President Joe Biden on Sunday called on Congress to pass new gun control legislation and said he would “sign it immediately,” in the wake of a shooting in Allen, Texas, that left at least eight dead and seven injured.

“Too many families have empty chairs at their dinner tables. Republican Members of Congress cannot continue to meet this epidemic with a shrug. Tweeted thoughts and prayers are not enough,” Biden said in a statement. “Once again I ask Congress to send me a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Enacting universal background checks. Requiring safe storage. Ending immunity for gun manufacturers.”

“We need nothing less to keep our streets safe,” he said.

Saturday’s shooting was the second mass shooting in Texas in recent weeks, and the second high-profile shooting within the week, after a gunman opened fire in an Atlanta medical facility Wednesday, killing at least one and leaving four other people injured.

In March, the president attempted to bypass Congress to tighten gun control measures, signing an executive order aimed at expanding background checks during a visit to Monterey Park, Calif., where 11 people were gunned down in January.

Numerous gun control measures have repeatedly stalled in Congress in recent decades, though legislation was approved in June 2022 and signed by Biden that was intended to keep guns out of the hands of people experiencing mental health crises.