Biden says assault weapons ban is needed badly, but it lacks support in Congress

In the wake of two mass shootings in California, President Joe Biden on Tuesday again called on Congress to pass an assault weapons ban, just a few months after he signed into law bipartisan gun control legislation that fell short of banning the deadly weapons.

On Saturday night, a gunman opened fire at a dance hall in Monterey Park, Calif., killing 11 and wounding several others. And on Monday, seven people were killed in two related shootings in Half Moon Bay in Northern California.

The Los Angeles County sheriff identified the weapon used in the Monterey Park mass shooting as a semiautomatic MAC-10 assault weapon, but a description of the gun used by the Half Moon Bay shooter has been described only generally as a semiautomatic handgun.

The White House has long been intent on showing it is serious about strengthening gun control laws. Vice President Kamala Harris is traveling to Monterey Park on Wednesday, and Mr. Biden in December attended a vigil for gun violence victims.