Biden Urges Stricter Gun Checks Amid Spate of U.S. Shootings

President Joe Biden called on lawmakers to pass stricter gun safety laws during his first joint address to Congress on Wednesday night, responding to a spate of gun violence across the U.S.

“Our flag at the White House was still flying at half—staff for the 8 victims of the mass shooting in Georgia, when 10 more lives were taken in a mass shooting in Colorado,” he said, according to the text of his speech distributed as he spoke. “In the week between those mass shootings, more than 250 other Americans were shot dead.”

Biden urged action on three House-passed bills ...