President Joe Biden pleaded for Congress to do more to curb gun violence as a wave of mass shootings across the US shows no sign of abating.

“For God’s sake, do something,” the president wrote in a column published Sunday in USA Today. “America doesn’t have to be a place where our children learn how to duck and cover from a shooter, or scan a movie theater or restaurant for their exit options.”

While Biden noted his success in signing a gun-safety law last June, he said the country needs to do more. The president cited data showing the US has experienced 650 mass shootings and 40,000 deaths in the year since 10 people were killed at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York. Last weekend, eight died after a gunman opened fire at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas.

Biden called on Congress to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, require gun owners to securely store their firearms, demand background checks for all gun sales and repeal gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability.

“My power is not absolute,” Biden wrote. “Once again, I am asking law enforcement leaders to mobilize their colleagues all across the country to urge Congress to ban assault weapons.”