The House will vote Friday to ban assault weapons

The House will vote Friday on an assault weapons ban, a statement of intent by Democrats to pursue more aggressive gun violence prevention measures in the wake of recent mass shootings.

The legislation, proposed by Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., would criminalize the knowing sale, manufacture, transfer, possession or importation of many types of semi-automatic weapons and large-capacity ammunition feeding devices.

July 27, 202201:57

“We are in the midst of a gun violence epidemic — an epidemic of carnage and unspeakable loss that has left far too many families broken,” Cicilline said in a recent statement. “And we know something that will reduce this bloodshed, because we saw the Assault Weapons Ban work from 1994 — 2004.”

The legislation is highly unlikely to pass the Senate, however. It’s not clear it has the support of all 50 Democrats and even if it achieved a majority of votes, it’d require the support of at least 10 Republicans to defeat a guaranteed filibuster.

Senate Republicans have not been open to any additional gun measures after passing bipartisan legislation last month aimed at enhancing background checks to include juvenile records and providing grants to states to enact “red flag” laws.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Democrats earlier this month that the House would advance the assault weapons ban in “respecting the overwhelming wish of the Caucus.” It passed the Judiciary Committee last week on a party-line vote of 25 to 18, with Republicans voting against it.

The ban would not apply to some types of firearms, including antiques, rifles and shotguns explicitly identified by make and model, and guns that are manually operated in a variety of ways.

In a “dear colleague” letter Friday, Pelosi called the ban “a crucial step in our ongoing fight against the deadly epidemic of gun violence in our nation.”

The cause of tougher gun laws has gained traction in Congress and in U.S. public opinion surveys after the recent spate of mass shootings, including in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas. The push for gun limits also represents a desire for Democrats to turn the tables on the GOP on the issue of crime.

House Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said that “assault weapons — especially when combined with high-capacity magazines — are the weapon of choice for mass shootings because they’re designed to kill with ruthless efficiency.”

The House had planned to vote on the assault weapons ban earlier this week alongside legislation to provide funding for local police departments. But members of the Congressional Black Caucus and other progressives balked at the latter measures, calling for more accountability measures in exchange for funding. They struck a deal to move forward solely on the assault weapons ban Friday.

Pelosi announced the vote in her letter, saying the House would continue to work on the police funding legislation for future consideration.

A progressive aide called the deal “huge for progressives.”

Rep. Joyce Beatty, who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, told reporters she was proud of the CBC’s leadership in striking Friday’s deal and grateful to Pelosi for listening to their concerns. 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 children, asking us to make sure that we do an assault ban. … Now, are we done? No, we’re not done. We will come back and we will look at the guardrails that we’re putting in,” she said, referring to the 2018 mass shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Friday’s vote comes days after the House Oversight Committee held a contentious hearing in which Democrats pressed gun manufacturers to take responsibility for their role in the gun violence epidemic and took a look at what they termed “disturbing sales tactics” to get young men to buy assault weapons.

Scott Wong, Ali Vitali and Kyle Stewart contributed.