Biden: If You Don’t Support An Assault Weapons Ban, ‘You’re Not On The Side Of Police’

Despite police officers overwhelmingly opposing a federal assault weapons ban, President Biden claimed during a virtual speech that Republicans who do not support banning assault rifles are not on the side of police in America.

“Being a cop today is a hell of a lot harder than it’s ever been,” Biden said to attendees at the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives conference in Orlando, Florida. “We expect everything of you. We expect you to be drug counselors to people overdosing at a scene; therapists to couples during a violent confrontation; social workers to kids who have been abandoned. Maybe worst of all, we send you out to do your job on the streets flooded with weapons of war.”

“You hear a lot of politicians say about how much they love you, how much they care about you, they’ll do anything for you,” Biden continued. “In the state you’re in today, Governor [Ron] DeSantis, Sen. [Marco] Rubio, Sen. Rick Scott all opposed banning assault weapons, and Senators Scott and Rubio voted against the bipartisan gun safety law that I signed, the first meaningful gun legislation in nearly thirty years, that you supported. To me, it’s simple. If you can’t support banning weapons of war on American streets, you’re not on the side of police.”

Biden’s attempts to pander to police officers come in conflict with his stance during his 2020 presidential campaign when he called for defunding the police, and also stand in opposition to the Democratic party’s push to defund the police in recent years.

For example, in New York City, Democrats cut the New York Police Department’s budget by $1 billion, which was criticized by Democrats for not being enough. Further, in Los Angeles, Democrats cut the Los Angeles Police Department’s budget by $150-million, which was praised by Vice President Kamala Harris.