Citing Tulsa and other mass shootings, Biden says 'it's time to act' on gun control

Following a string of mass shootings, including Wednesday in Tulsa, President Joe Biden called for a nationwide ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, along with several other gun reform measures.

“It’s time to act, for the children we’ve lost, for the children we can save,” said Biden, who delivered a live address from the White House Thursday evening.

Biden referenced recent shootings in Texas and New York, along with the attack in a Tulsa hospital that left four dead.

The shooter in Tulsa purchased an AR-15 style rifle just over an hour before he entered Saint Francis Health System.

Biden said he wanted a ban on assault weapons like the one used in Tulsa, or at least to raise the age required to purchase one from 18 to 21.

More: A doctor who loved jazz, a mother of two: What we know about the Tulsa shooting victims

Biden also called for tougher background checks, repealing gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability, and for a nationwide "red flag" law that allows courts to take guns away from a person exhibiting violent tendencies.

Oklahoma has a law that prevents cities and counties from enacting "red flag" laws.

"This is not about taking away anyone's guns, not about vilifying gun owners," Biden said. "I respect the culture and the tradition … At the same time the Second Amendment, like all other rights, is not absolute."

As vice president, Biden was tasked by President Barack Obama to lead an effort for tougher gun control laws following a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, where 26 people were killed.

Biden advocated for tougher background checks for firearm purchases but it ultimately failed in the U.S. Senate.

Oklahoma House Minority Leader Emily Virgin, D-Norman, said she was optimistic that Biden could effectively convince the American people that action on gun control is now necessary.

"He was vice president when Sandy Hook happened, so he has seen the personal devastation of these events," Virgin said on Thursday, previewing Biden's address. "I think President Biden has an incredible capacity for empathy and conveying the stories of what people are experiencing and he knows the legislative process."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Citing Tulsa, other shootings, Biden for national ban on assault weapons