WATCH: Biden says, ‘We must beat the NRA again’ | 2024 State of the Union

President Joe Biden denounced the National Rifle Association and highlighted his administration’s advancements on gun control during his March 7 State of the Union Address.

Biden introduced a girl named Jazmin Cazares, who he said was the sister of a child murdered in the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting in 2022. When he and his wife, first lady Jill Biden, visited Uvalde, they “spent hours and hours with each of the families,” the president recounted.

“We heard their message, so everyone in this chamber could hear the same message. … They said, ‘Do something. Do something!’” Biden told Congress.

At times raising his voice, Biden then challenged Congress to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and pass universal background checks.

“I taught the Second Amendment for 12 years,” Biden said, as some in the audience grumbled in disapproval. “None of this violates the Second Amendment or vilifies responsible gun owners.”

Biden’s March 7 address comes as he seeks reelection against likely Republican nominee former President Donald Trump. It also comes five months into a deadly war on Gaza and just more than two years after Russia invaded Ukraine – both foreign wars that have tested his relationship with allies and Congress. This is Biden’s third State of the Union address and the last of this term.

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