On Friday a bill was passed by the House of Representatives to ban assault-style weapons.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced the last-minute vote on Friday morning, just hours before the chamber was due to resume for a month-long recess.
The legislation was passed from 217 to 213. The bill was supported by two Republican legislators, Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania and Chris Jacobs from New York.
Pelosi stated that the ban was “a crucial step towards our ongoing fight against gun violence”.
During a debate on the bill, she stated that “our nation has witnessed unspeakable terror as assault weapons were used in massacre after massacre within communities across the country.” “And worryingly, so many mass shootings have targeted children in our schools, at our malls, and at our community centers.”
Two decades have passed since Congress let such restrictions lapse. Democratic lawmakers claim that mass shootings have tripled since then.
The bill, if it is enacted, would make it a crime for anyone to knowingly import or sell, manufacture, transfer or possess a semiautomatic attack weapon or large capacity ammunition feeding device. Some of these weapons could be grandfathered in.
In the wake of the recent mass shootings at Buffalo, New York, Uvalde (Texas), and Highland Park, Illinois, President Joe Biden and gun control advocates have renewed calls for outlawing weapons such as AR-15 rifles.
In June, Congress passed the first major piece of gun reform in 30+ years. It increased background checks for gun buyers younger than 21 and provided money for red flag laws. The measure was not as successful as Biden and Democrats had hoped.
Before the House vote, the Biden administration supported the bill.
The White House Office of Management and Budget stated that “40,000 Americans are killed each year by gunshot wounds” and that guns had become the leading cause of death for children in America. “As President Biden repeatedly urged, we must do more in order to end gun violence and save lives”. “We are certain that a ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines will save lives”.
The bill passed the House but is unlikely to move to the Senate. To overcome the filibuster, Democrats would need at least 10 Republican votes.
The House Republicans condemned the ban as violating the Second Amendment. Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) displayed a poster with a firearm and the phrase “Shall not infringe.”
Original plans by House Democrats to include an assault weapon ban in a larger public safety package were thwarted by divisions within the caucus, which has hampered leadership’s attempts to bring the package before the August recess.
Pelosi stated Friday that the work on other policing measures continues, including legislation to restore some civil liability for gun makers and legislation to create federal grant programs for local police departments.
She wrote to her colleagues, “House Democrats are committed to building safer communities in every corner of this country.” “To achieve that end, our members have been working hard on a strong package of public safety bills. We have made tremendous progress in our discussions.”
Guns are not killing people, people are killing people. This ban will not do anything except take away our rights. If somebody wants an assault weapon bad enough, they will get it or they will make it themselves. Just like what recently happened in Japan when their former Prime Minister was assassinated with a homemade gun. The democrats don’t seem to understand that guns are not the issue, the problem is that there is little to no help for people who suffer from mental illness in our country. Until there is more help for mental illness a ban on any kind of guns won’t make a difference or quite frankly do shit to stop mass shootings. It is the sad truth that we all have to face. The money that the government has invested in all of these bullshit programs could have been used to open mental health facilities that anyone could go to and get the help that they need, but I guess that takes too much common sense.
