White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is clarifying the scope of restrictions on firearms that President Joe Biden is calling for.
On Tuesday, Fox News’ Peter Doocy noted, “Canada is making it impossible to buy, sell, transfer, or import handguns anywhere in that country.”
“Would President Biden ever consider a similar restriction on handguns here?” he asked.
Jean-Pierre responded, “We’ll leave it up to other countries to set their policy on gun ownership.”
“The President has made his position clear: The United States needs to act. As I just laid out, he supports a ban on the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and expanded background checks to keep guns out of dangerous hands,” she continued.
Finally, the press secretary said, “He does not support a ban on the sale of all handguns, to answer your question.”
Watch the video below:
DOOCY TIME: "Canada is making it impossible to buy, sell, transfer, or import handguns anywhere in that country. Would…Biden ever consider a similar restriction on handguns here?"
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) May 31, 2022
KJP says while "other countries" can "set their [own] polic[ies]," Biden "does not support that pic.twitter.com/yFuA08UUVw
The exchange comes after the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, sparked renewed calls for gun control.
Earlier this week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a “freeze” on handgun ownership.
“It will no longer be possible to buy, sell, transfer or import handguns anywhere in Canada,” Trudeau said at a press conference.
He added, “We recognize that the vast majority of gun owners use them safely and in accordance with the law, but other than using firearms for sport shooting and hunting, there is no reason anyone in Canada should need guns in their everyday lives.”
Biden said he was “sick and tired” of mass shootings in the wake of the Uvalde shooting last week.
“It’s time to turn this pain into action. For every parent, for every citizen in this country, we have to make it clear to every elected official in this country: It’s time to act,” he declared.
And on Monday, the president sparked speculation that he might be eying restricting not just long guns, but also handguns as he said, “The 9mm bullet blows the lung out of the body.”
“That idea that… high caliber weapon, there’s simply no rational basis for it in terms of self-protection, hunting,” he added.
Biden also said, “The Constitution, the Second Amendment was never absolute. You couldn’t buy a cannon when the Second Amendment was passed.”
