US President Joe Biden has renewed his calls for Congress to pass gun control bills following a mass shooting that took place at a Texas mall on Saturday. The shooting, which left nine people dead, including the shooter, has once again reignited the debate over gun control in the US. Biden called for a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, as well as the enactment of universal background checks and the end of immunity for gun manufacturers. However, it is unlikely that such legislation would be passed by the narrowly divided House and Senate. Polls indicate that most people in the US support background checks, but the issue of gun control remains a hot-button one for many Republicans who are backed by millions in donations from gun rights groups and manufacturers.

The shooting at the Allen Premium Outlets mall in Allen, a northern suburb of Dallas, was the latest in a series of mass shootings that have become commonplace in the US. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been at least 199 mass shootings in 2023, the most at this point in the year since at least 2016. Mass shootings are defined by the non-profit group as any in which four or more people are wounded or killed, not including the shooter.

The tragedy in Allen, which occurred just over a week after another deadly shooting in the Texas town of Cleveland, has once again brought the issue of gun control to the forefront of national debate. The US Constitution’s Second Amendment protects the right to bear arms, making the issue a contentious one for many Americans.