President Joe Biden is sharing what he believes is really motivating opponents of a so-called “assault weapons” ban.
Speaking at the National Action Network Martin Luther King Jr. Day breakfast on Monday, the president brought up gun control policies.
“I’m going to get an assault weapons ban,” Biden declared. “I did it once, I’m going to do it again.”
He continued, “There’s no social redeeming value. Deer aren’t wearing kevlar vests out there. What the hell do you need an [assault weapon for]? No, I’m serious. And ban the number of bullets that can go in a magazine.”
He went on:
“I love my right-wing friends talking about how the tree of liberty is watered with the blood of patriots. If you want to take on the federal government, you need some F-15s. You don’t need an AR-15.”
Finally, he urged listeners to “think about the rationale for this.”
“It’s about money,” Biden insisted.
Watch the video below:
Biden: "There is no social redeeming value [to assault weapons]… I love my right-wing friends talking about how the tree of liberty is watered with the blood of patriots. If you want to take on the federal government, you need some f-15s. You don't need an AR-15." pic.twitter.com/b52CW3byiq
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) January 16, 2023
Firearms experts balk at the label “assault weapons” or “assault rifle” as they note the industry does not actually use the terms to describe a category of guns.
Biden has previously been criticized for his language about gun control.
In November, he argued, “The idea we still allow semi-automatic weapons to be purchased is sick. It’s just sick. It has no, no social redeeming values.”
“Zero. None. Not a single, solitary rationale for it except profit for the gun manufacturer,” he added.
The comment prompted backlash from critics who noted there are semi-automatic firearms, such as pistols, that are not traditionally viewed as “assault weapons.”
The White House later clarified Biden was “talking about assault weapons.”
Biden was also mocked last year for asserting a “9mm bullet blows the lung out of the body.”