House Committee Approves First Assault Weapons Ban Bill in Decades

Wednesday’s House Judiciary Committee motioned a bill to ban assault weapons forward. However, it is not clear if the legislation has the support needed to be passed on the floor.

According to The Hill, Democratic Reps. Jared Golden from Maine and Henry Cuellar from Texas have stated that they will not support the bill. However, Republican Reps. Chris Jacobs and Adam Kinzinger, both of New York, have indicated they are open to supporting a ban. The margin of victory for House Democrats is four votes.

Although the Assault Weapons Ban of 2020 was approved by a vote of 25-18, a date for a vote on the House floor has not yet been determined.

“Assault weapons, especially when combined with high capacity magazines, are the weapon choice for mass shootings,” Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), House Judiciary Committee Chairman, stated during the bill’s markup. These weapons of military design are made to kill as many people as possible in a short time. They are simply not allowed on our streets.

Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), was the ranking member who argued that the bill would remove the rights of gun owners.

He stated that although Democrats know that legislation will not reduce violent crime and reduce the chance of mass shootings they are obsessive about attacking law-abiding Americans’ Second Amendment rights.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said that “They’re coming after your guns.”

This legislation follows the passage of the Senate’s most comprehensive gun control bill in 30 years. It comes after a string of mass shootings that resulted in the deaths of 19 victims and two teachers at Uvalde Elementary School in Texas.

Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden have called for an assault weapons ban.

Biden stated that assault weapons must be banned last week while speaking at the White House to celebrate the signing of the bipartisan gun legislation. They were banned. In 1994, I was the one who led the fight. The ban was eventually lifted in 2004 after pressure from the NRA, gun manufacturers, and other groups. Mass shootings declined over the 10 years that it was in effect.

In 1994, former President Bill Clinton signed an agreement banning assault weapons. It expired in 2004.