RT by @mikenov: A historical photograph taken on August 3, 1993 (AP Photo by Barry Thumma), showing then-U.S. Senator Joe Biden (D-Del.) as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee… Biden held up a TEC-9 semi-automatic pistol during a Capitol Hill hearing on combating the proliferation of assault-style weapons. … In 1993, Biden was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which was holding hearings on violent crime and on a proposal to ban certain semi-automatic weapons. The TEC-9, a semi-automatic pistol made by the Miami-based company Intratec, was at the center of the debate. That July, a gunman armed with TEC-9-style pistols killed eight people at an office building at 101 Calif

A historical photograph taken on August 3, 1993 (AP Photo by Barry Thumma), showing then-U.S. Senator Joe Biden (D-Del.) as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee…

Biden held up a TEC-9 semi-automatic pistol during a Capitol Hill hearing on combating the proliferation of assault-style weapons.

…

In 1993, Biden was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which was holding hearings on violent crime and on a proposal to ban certain semi-automatic weapons.

The TEC-9, a semi-automatic pistol made by the Miami-based company Intratec, was at the center of the debate. That July, a gunman armed with TEC-9-style pistols killed eight people at an office building at 101 California Street in San Francisco, adding pressure on Congress to act.

The following year, Congress passed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. Signed by President Bill Clinton in September 1994, it was the largest crime bill in US history at the time.

Part of the law, known as the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, prohibited the manufacture of certain semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines for civilian use. It came with a 10-year expiration date. Congress didn’t renew it, and the ban ended in 2004.

Biden went on to serve as vice president from 2009 to 2017 and as president from 2021 to 2025.

The same 1994 crime bill also included the Violence Against Women Act, which Biden had championed. It created new federal protections and funding to fight domestic violence.

#archaeohistories

— @archeohistories Oct 26, 2026