‘Disappointed’ Joe Biden blasts SCOTUS decision to strike down NY gun law

US President Joe Biden on Thursday blasted the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down a New York gun law that effectively makes it easier for Americans to carry firearms.

“I am deeply disappointed by the Supreme Court’s ruling … Since 1911, the State of New York has required individuals who would like to carry a concealed weapon in public to show a need to do so for the purpose of self-defense and to acquire a license. More than a century later, the United States Supreme Court has chosen to strike down New York’s long-established authority to protect its citizens. This ruling contradicts both common sense and the Constitution, and should deeply trouble us all,” said the 79-year-old President in a statement.

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The SCOTUS decision, passed by a 6-3 vote, came on the back of several deadly mass shootings in the US, in a year marked by a considerably increase in gun violence, a point not lost on the US President.

“In the wake of the horrific attacks in Buffalo and Uvalde, as well as the daily acts of gun violence that do not make national headlines, we must do more as a society — not less — to protect our fellow Americans,” Biden emphasized.

“I have already taken more executive actions to reduce gun violence than any other President during their first year in office, and I will continue to do all that I can to protect Americans from gun violence,” the US President continued, highlighting his administration’s efforts to contain the malaise.

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Biden further urged “states to continue to enact and enforce commonsense laws to make their citizens and communities safer from gun violence,” noting that as per late SCOTUS Justice Antonin Scalia, the Second Amendment was “not absolute.”

“I call on Americans across the country to make their voices heard on gun safety. Lives are on the line,” Biden concluded.

The exchange between Biden and the SCOTUS comes at a time when Democrats and Republicans have joined hands to try and get a bipartisan gun control bill passed, something that is being hailed as the biggest attempt at reform in more than a generation.