Administration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., 2023

March 28, 2023

Q. Mr. Presidentââ

Q. Will you go to Nashville or Mississippi?

Q. Mr. Presidentââ

Gun Control Legislation

Q. Mr. President, is there anyâis there any action that you can take on guns? Or do you think it's all up to Congress at this point?

The President. I have gone the full extent of my executive authority to do, on my own, anything about guns.

Q. Do you believe itâMr. President, sirââ

Q. Will youâwill you considerââ

Restricting Assault Weapons

The President. Wait, wait, wait, wait a minute. Wait a minute. The Congress has to act. The majority of the American people think having assault weapons is bizarre; it's a crazy idea. They're against that. And so I think the Congress should be passing the assault weapons ban.

I want to remind you, the last time we passed the assault weapons ban, violent shootings went down, mass shootings went down for 10 or however many years it wasâ9 years. And soâ

â

Gun Control Measures

Q. So what can you do?

The President. So I can't do anything except plead with the Congress to act reasonably.

Q. But Mr.âsir, sirââ

Shooting in Nashville, Tennessee

Q. Will you consider traveling to Nashville to meet with members of the community? Will you consider traveling to Nashville to meet with members of the community?

The President. Yes, I've spoken with everyone down there, from the mayor, to the Senators, to all the players. I spoke to the chief of police today. I've spoken to all of them.

What I don't want to doâI've been through many of these myself, as you know, all the way starting way back to the mass shootingsâ[*inaudible*].

Thank you.

[*At this point, several reporters continued asking questions at once*.]

Q. Sirââ

Q. Mr. Presidentââ

Q. And what would you make?

NOTE: The President spoke at 11:47 a.m. on the South Lawn at the White House prior to boarding Marine One. In his remarks, he referred to Mayor John Cooper of Nashville, TN; Sens. William

F. Hagerty IV and Marsha Wedgeworth Blackburn; and Chief of Police John Drake of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County.

Categories: Interviews With the News Media : Exchanges with reporters, White House. Locations: Washington, DC.

Names: Blackburn, Marsha Wedgeworth; Cooper, John; Drake, John; Hagerty, William F., IV.

Subjects: Gun control efforts; Gun violence, prevention efforts; News media, Presidential interviews; Tennessee, shooting in Nashville.

DCPD Number: DCPD202300237.