A worker hangs a custom AR-15-style rifle on a wall at Davidson Defense in Orem, Utah on February 4, 2021.
George Frey | AFP | beautiful pictures
The House of Representatives passed the assault weapons ban for the first time since 2004, in a sign that Democrats intend to pursue gun violence prevention measures more aggressively after mass shooting.
The bill passed in a mostly partisan vote 217-213, with two Republicans voting for the bill and five Democrats opposing it.
The level of opposition from the GOP suggests the bill is unlikely to make progress in the divided Senate, where it would require the support of at least 10 Republicans to beat a guaranteed movie. It is also unclear whether the measure will have the support of all 50 Democrats in the Senate.
The lawauthor of Representative David Cicilline, DR.I., would criminalize the known sale, manufacture, transfer, possession, or importation of a variety of semi-automatic weapons and high-powered loader devices.
In a floor debate ahead of Friday’s vote, House Democrats argued that an assault weapons ban was needed because of the number of recent shootings in which gunmen have used weapons. attack gas.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said: “Our nation has witnessed indescribable horror as assault weapons have been used in massacres after massacres in communities across the globe. across the country. “We know that an assault weapons ban can work because it has worked before.”
Representative Jerry Nadler of New York, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee asked: “How many more mass shootings do we have to endure? When will we know?”
The Judiciary Committee took the measure last week based on a partisan vote of 25 to 18.
Republicans in the House of Representatives on Friday insisted the law was unconstitutional and Democrats wanted the weapons confiscated.
“They came to get your guns today,” said Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee. “They want to take everyone’s guns.”
The bill “will make communities less safe,” he added.
The assault weapons ban will not apply to certain types of firearms, including antiques, rifles and handguns clearly identified by name and make, as well as manually operated firearms. in many different ways.
Former President Bill Clinton signed into law a 10-year assault weapons ban in 1994. It expired in 2004. Several studies, including one published in 2019 in the journal lice Journal of Acute Care Trauma and Surgeryhas shown that the number of people who die from mass shootings has decreased during the years the ban was in effect.
Senate Republicans did not publicize any additional gun measures after passed bipartisan legislation last month aimed to increase background checks to include juvenile records and provide funding for states to enact “red flag” laws.
That’s because tougher gun laws have gained traction in Congress and in US polls following the mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas. The push for gun limits also demonstrates Democrats’ desire to overturn the GOP’s stance on crime in the November midterm elections.
A memorial to the 19 children and two adults killed on May 24 in a mass shooting at Robb Elementary is seen on May 30, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas.
Yasin Ozturk | Anadolu Agency | beautiful pictures
The House of Representatives was scheduled to vote on an assault weapons ban earlier this week along with legislation providing funding for local police departments. But members of the Congressional Black Caucus and other progressives disagreed with the latter measures, calling for more accountability measures in exchange for funding. They reached an agreement to move forward solely on Friday’s assault weapons ban.
Pelosi said the House will continue to work on police funding legislation for future consideration.
Joyce Beatty, who chaired the Black Congressional caucus, told reporters she was proud of CBC’s leadership in reaching the deal Friday and was grateful to Pelosi for listening to the relationship. their mind. She described the assault weapons vote as “step one” in addressing violence and policing.
“We have people from Uvalde and Parkland who are here today with those kids, asking us to make sure we enforce the assault ban. …Now, are we done? No, we’re not done. We’ll go back and we’ll look at the railings we’re putting in,” she said, referring to the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland , Florida.
Friday’s vote comes days after the House Oversight Committee held controversial hearing in which Democrats hold gun manufacturers accountable for their role in the gun violence pandemic and examine what they call “disruptive sales tactics” to get young men to buy firearms. attack gas.
