White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that President Joe Biden’s staff was considering executive actions on gun control, in response to recent mass shootings.
“We are considering a range of levers, including working through legislation, including executive actions to address, obviously, not just gun safety measures but violence in communities,” Psaki said.
Psaki spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One during President Biden’s trip to Ohio.
She said Biden believed there were “a number of levers” that could be used to push forward gun control, citing his effort as vice president to pass gun control after the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings.
Psaki added Biden wanted to work together with Republicans and Democrats to pass gun control, but hinted he may act on his own if nothing was passed.
“He is not going to allow for obstruction to get work done for the American people,” Psaki said. “But his preference and priority is working with members of both parties.”
Biden used the latest shooting to make a passionate call for gun control, including a ban on “assault weapons.”
“We can ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in this country once again,” he said at the White House before leaving for his trip.
The suspect of the Boulder shooting, Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, faces ten counts of first-degree murder after he allegedly opened fire at a grocery store on Monday.
Last week, eight people were shot and killed after a gunman opened fire at a pair of massage parlors in Atlanta, Georgia.
Biden said the motives of the shootings and the weapons used were still unclear, but more gun control was necessary.
“I don’t need to wait another minute, let alone an hour, to take commonsense steps that will save the lives in the future and to urge my colleagues in the House and Senate to act,” he said.
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