But voter opinions appear to be shifting and Democrats dared to act before the fall election. Kurt Schrader of Oregon, Henry Cuellar of Texas, Jared Golden of Maine, Ron Kind of Wisconsin and Vicente Gonzalez of Texas.įor nearly two decades, since the previous ban expired Democrats had been reluctant to revisit the issue and confront the gun lobby. The Democratic lawmakers voting no were Reps. Chris Jacobs of New York and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania were the only Republicans to vote for the measure. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said it exempts those already in possession. The bill would make it unlawful to import, sell or manufacture a long list of semi-automatic weapons. Jordan replied by inviting her to his congressional district to debate him on the Second Amendment, saying he believed most of his constituents “probably agree with me and agree with the United States Constitution.” “Schools, shopping malls, grocery stores, Independence Day parades shouldn’t be scenes of mass carnage and bloodshed.” “Your freedom stops where mine begins, and that of my constituents begins,” Democratic Rep. In one exchange, two Ohio lawmakers squared off. Pelosi displayed a poster of a gun company's advertisement for children's weapons, smaller versions that resemble the popular AR-15 rifles and are marketed with cartoon-like characters. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said the weapons ban is not about taking away Americans' Second Amendment rights but ensuring that children also have the right “to not get shot in school.” Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., “An armed America is a safe and free America.”ĭemocrats argued that the ban on the weapons makes sense, portraying Republicans as extreme and out of step with Americans. “It’s a gun grab, pure and simple,” said Rep. Republicans stood firmly against limits on ownership of the high-powered firearms during an at times emotional debate ahead of voting. “When the ban expired in 2004, mass shootings tripled,” the statement said. The Biden administration said for 10 years while the ban was in place, mass shootings declined. In a statement before the vote, his administration said "we know an assault weapons and large-capacity magazine ban will save lives.” President Joe Biden, who was instrumental in helping secure the first semi-automatic weapons ban as a senator in 1994, encouraged passage, promising to sign the bill if it reached his desk. A recent vote to protect same-sex marriages from potential Supreme Court legal challenges won a surprising amount of bipartisan support. Voters seem to be taking such election-year votes seriously as Congress splits along party lines and lawmakers are forced to go on the record with their views. massacre of school children in Uvalde, Texas and the July Fourth shootings of revelers in Highland Park, Ill. The bill comes at a time of intensifying concerns about gun violence and shootings - the supermarket shooting in Buffalo, N.Y. It will likely stall in the 50-50 Senate. Almost all Republicans voted against the bill, which passed 217-213. The House legislation is shunned by Republicans, who dismissed it as an election-year strategy by Democrats. Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed the vote toward passage in the Democratic-run House, saying the earlier ban “saved lives.” But Congress allowed the restrictions first put in place in 1994 on the manufacture and sales of the weapons to expire a decade later, unable to muster the political support to counter the powerful gun lobby and reinstate the weapons ban. Once banned in the U.S., the high-powered firearms are now widely blamed as the weapon of choice among young men responsible for many of the most devastating mass shootings. WASHINGTON (AP) - The House passed legislation Friday to revive a ban on semi-automatic guns, the first vote of its kind in years and a direct response to the firearms often used in the crush of mass shootings ripping through communities nationwide. By LISA MASCARO and KEVIN FREKING Associated Press
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