President Biden signs order to tighten background checks on people buying guns

President Biden has made clear his intention to try to ban assault weapons
President Biden has made clear his intention to try to ban assault weapons Copyright Seth Perlman/Copyright 2023 The AP. All rights reserved.
Copyright Seth Perlman/Copyright 2023 The AP. All rights reserved.
By Mark Armstrong with AP
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President Joe Biden has made another bid to tighten gun control in the US by signing an executive order to increase the number of background checks needed before someone can buy a firearm.

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President Joe Biden has made another bid to tighten gun control in the US.

He's used an executive order to increase the number of background checks needed before someone can buy a firearm.

The move is aimed at moving the US "as close to universal background checks as possible without additional legislation."

On Tuesday, Biden visited a suburban community near Los Angeles where a gunman stormed a dance hall and killed eleven people in January. 

“I’m determined to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines,” Biden told the families of some of the victims who were in the audience for his remarks, along with the 26-year-old who wrestled the semiautomatic pistol away from the gunman.

At present laws on the sale of firearms vary from state to state.vThe latest order does not require the approval of Congress.

Last year, Biden attempted to push a law banning assault weapons but it's unlikely to get far with Republicans in control of the US House of Representatives.

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