Speech takeaways: Biden calls for police reform, gun control.
Calls for police reform, ban on assault weapons
WASHINGTON – In his first address to a joint session of Congress, President Joe Biden both looked back on his first 100 days in office and laid out a vision for the future of his administration.
Here are some of the top takeaways from Biden’s address:
● The week after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man whose death sparked waves of protest against racism and police brutality across the nation, Biden pushed for police reform.
He urged Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which aims to bolster police accountability and ban certain maneuvers that have led to the deaths of Black Americans.
“Let’s get it done next month, by the first anniversary of George Floyd’s death,” Biden said. Floyd died after Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020.
To applause, Biden said he believes the vast majority of law enforcement officials are good people who “serve their communities honorably,” but said systemic racism in the criminal justice system needs to be addressed.
● For the first time in history, two women stood behind the president as he delivered a joint address to Congress. Vice President Kamala Harris, the first woman to be elected to that position, stood alongside Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the first woman elected as speaker in 2007.
“Madam speaker, madam vice presion
dent,” Biden said when he arrived at the podium. “No president has ever said those words from this podium, and it’s about time.”
● Biden pressed lawmakers to take urgent action on gun violence in the country, which he called an “epidemic,” in the wake of multiple deadly shootings this year. He asked Congress to reinstate a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, recalling his efforts to do so in 1994 as a senator from Delaware.
He called for the passage of two House bills, aimed at strengthening background checks on gun purchases, that don’t have enough support from Republicans in the Senate to pass in the evenly divided chamber.
He also urged the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act aimed at reducing domestic and sexual violence.
● Biden urged Congress to raise taxes
the rich and corporations, saying they need to pay their fair share.
“I’m not looking to punish anyone,” he said. “What I’ve proposed is fair. It’s fiscally responsible.”
● But the president didn’t focus on the border challenges his administration faced Wednesday night. Instead, he focused on urging Congress to pass his comprehensive immigration legislation, which would create a pathway to citizenship for the nearly 11 million people living in the United States without citizenship.
● Biden celebrated his administration passing its goal of delivering 200 million COVID-19 vaccines in his first 100 days in office, calling the ongoing vaccination effort one of the greatest “logistical achievements this country has ever seen. He urged all Americans to get a vaccine, noting everyone over the age of 16 is now eligible to receive one.