Biden warns of 'more pronounced' summer crime spike as he announces plan to tackle gun violence

President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced a comprehensive strategy on violent crime prevention -- with a particular emphasis on gun crimes -- amid a nationwide surge in violent crime that's emerged as an area of concern for the White House.

Following his meeting with state and local leaders to discuss the spike in crime, Biden addressed the issue in a speech at the White House.

"Crime historically rises during the summer and as we emerge from this pandemic with the country opening back up again, the traditional summer spike may be more pronounced than it usually would be," Biden said.

Biden's speech Wednesday was an important marker ahead of a summer of reopening from the Covid-19 pandemic, which has been marked by surging crime in cities across the country. The White House has grown concerned over increasing crime in recent weeks and the President hoped to use the speech to dampen what has already become a cudgel for Republicans eager to run a "law and order" campaign in next year's midterm elections.

During his remarks, Biden pressed on establishing an assault weapons ban -- a move that's supposed to be approved through Congress.

"I've been at this a long time, and there are things we know that work to reduce gun violence and violent crime, and things that we don't know about," Biden said.

"But things we know about -- background checks for purchasing a firearm are important. A ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines -- no one needs to have a weapon that can fire over 30, 40, 50, even up to 100 rounds, unless you think the deer are wearing Kevlar vests or something. Community policing and programs that keep neighborhoods safe and keep folks out of trouble -- these efforts work, they save lives, but over time, these policies were gutted, are woefully underfunded."