Biden: "We should have societal guilt" for inaction on guns after Sandy Hook

President Biden said in a statement Wednesday that the U.S. should have "societal guilt" for not taking more action to address gun violence after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

Why it matters: Wednesday marks the 10th anniversary of the mass shooting that killed 20 first graders and six educators.

Biden, who was serving as vice president at the time of the mass shooting, reiterated a commitment to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, saying they "have no purpose other than to kill people in large numbers."

What they're saying: "Ten years ago today at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, our nation watched as the unthinkable happened," Biden stated.

"Twenty young children with their whole lives ahead of them. Six educators who gave their lives protecting their students. And countless survivors who still carry the wounds of that day," it continues.