WATCH: Joe Biden appeals for stricter gun laws after spate of massacres

US President Joe Biden has issued a fervent appeal for stricter gun laws including a ban on assault weapons, tougher background-check laws and a higher minimum age of purchase.

His calls comes after the spate of gun massacres have left Americans shaken and prompted a new discussion at Capitol Hill on how to prevent them.

“After Sandy Hook, Charleston, Orlando, Las Vegas, Parkland, nothing has been done. This time that can’t be true, this time we must actually do something. This issue we face is one of conscience and common sense.”

‘I want to be very clear, this is not about taking away anyone’s guns. It’s not about vilifying gun owners. In fact, we believe we should be truly responsible gun owners as an example of how every gun owner should behave,” Biden said.

Firearm deaths in the US have now surpassed motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of death among American youngsters, with official data showing a strong rise in gun-related homicides such as the killing of 19 children in a Texas school rampage.

According to AFP, at least 4,368 children and adolescents up to the age of 19 died from firearm-caused injuries in 2020, a rate of 5.4 per 100,000 a dashboard by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed.

In the latest shooting, ten people were injured, including a 17-year-old in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, on Monday.

Charleston Police Chief Luther Reynolds during a news conference on Tuesday said that four people were hospitalised in critical condition.

One person was arrested for disorderly conduct, and another was arrested Tuesday morning, according to Reynolds.

Meanwhile, in South Africa, the Constitutional Court upheld the Supreme Court of Appeals’ (SCA) finding that the Firearms Control Act contained a mechanism by which a gun owner could regain lawful ownership of a firearm, as it still remained the property of the owner.

This is the last thing the South African Police Service (Saps) and Minister of Police Bheki Cele needed while already struggling to come up with any viable solutions to fight high levels of crime and in the process improve their image.

ALSO READ: Gun control: Bheki Cele shot himself in the foot