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President Joe Biden delivered an impassioned appeal Thursday for stricter gun laws, making a plea to Congress to take action against gun violence as a recent string of mass shootings have left the country in anguish.

‘We need to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines,’ Biden said. ‘And if we can’t ban assault weapons, then we should raise the age to purchase them from 18 to 21. Strengthen background checks and safe storage laws and red flag laws. Repeal the immunity that protects gun manufacturers from liability. Address the mental health crisis.’

Speaking from the White House, Biden asked: ‘How much more carnage are we willing to accept?’

Biden’s most aggressive call for gun control yet follows a recent spate of shootings by an 18-year-old gunman who killed 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and a racially-motivated shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, where a gunman killed 10 black people.

His address came one day after another attack in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in which a gunman shot and killed four people and himself at a medical office.

‘Don’t tell me raising the age won’t make a difference,’ Biden said, calling on the Senate specifically, where 10 Republican votes would be needed to pass any kind of legislation.

While Biden proposed large-scale action and smaller alternatives, any major action Congress is still unlikely. Acknowledging the likeliness that Congress won’t pass

‘I know how hard it is, but I’ll never give up, and if Congress fails, I believe this time a majority of the American people won’t give up either,’ he said. ‘I believe the majority of you will act to turn your outrage into making this issue central to your vote.’

Biden said he finds the fact that Senate Republicans don’t want to even discuss such bipartisan proposals ‘unconscionable.’

‘This isn’t about taking anyone’s rights. It’s about protecting children,’ he said.

The president cited data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which said that guns are the number one killer of children in the US. Over the last two decades, more children have died from guns than car accidents or cancer.

He then struck down criticism from gun-rights advocates, noting his appeal wasn’t about vilifying gun owners or taking away guns.

‘We should be treating responsible gun owners as an example of how every gun owner should behave,’ he said. ‘This isn’t about taking away anyone’s rights, it’s about protecting children. It’s about protecting families.’

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