Biden blames 'gun lobby' for Uvalde shooting

Former President Joe Biden on Tuesday blamed the "gun lobby" and "gun manufacturers" while calling for "common-sense gun laws" after a Texas elementary school shooting left 21 dead, including 18 children.

"As a nation, we have to ask, 'When in God's name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? When in God's name [will] we do what we all know in our gut needs to be done?'" Biden said in a national address shortly after returning from his trip to Asia.

The president claimed that after passing the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban, mass shootings went down but tripled after the ban expired.

"The gun manufacturers have spent 2 decades aggressively marketing assault weapons which make them the most and largest profit. For God's sake we have to have the courage to stand up to the industry," Biden stressed, adding that "most Americans support... common-sense gun laws."

Biden said it is time to "stand up to the lobbies" and "turn this pain into action."

The president has been pushing for more gun control during his entire time in office, with a special focus on so-called "ghost guns."

It remains unclear how the suspect in the most recent shooting, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, obtained the weapons to carry out his alleged attack at Robb Elementary School in Ulvade, Texas.