Congressional Democrats Push New Ban on ‘Assault’-Style Rifles, Accessories

Democratic lawmakers are pushing a revived bill to ban so-called assault weapons despite it having almost no chance of passing the Republican-controlled Congress as it currently exists.Senator Schiff is introducing the Assault Weapons Ban Act of 2025 with a group of Democratic co-sponsors. It would ban the sale of, manufacture, import, and transfer of what Mr. Schiff calls “military-style” firearms.The bill includes a list of more than a dozen pages of weapons and accessories that would be banned, including AR-style rifles, high-capacity magazines, and other high-capacity ammunition feeding devices.He acknowledges that the bill has an uphill battle. “The path is a very difficult one given that the Republicans control both houses,” Mr. Schiff says. “But we have seen things pass in this Congress that we never would have imagined.”He claims “this bill will pass,” but it’s just a matter of how quickly they can make it happen. “We have momentum to pass this bill,” Senator Murphy claims, ignoring the math in both houses of Congress.A previous federal assault weapons ban expired more than two decades ago. Mr. Schiff claims that mass shootings have gone up more than 200 percent since then. He says there have been 486 mass shootings involving assault-style weapons since 2006, killing “hundreds and hundreds” of Americans.“This bill is a way to attack that massive threat to our safety and security,” Mr. Schiff says.The NRA responded to Mr. Schiff on X with an image of a gun and the words “Come and take it” below it.“Anti-gun radical Adam Schiff wants to ban commonly owned firearms that are used by millions of Americans each and every day to defend themselves and their loved ones,” the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action executive director, John Crommerford, tells The New York Sun.“Thankfully, because NRA members and gun owners turned out to the polls in November, we have a pro-gun majority in the U.S. Senate who should dispose of this unconstitutional proposal,” he says.Mr. Schiff is taking over as a lead sponsor of the assault weapons ban legislation from the late Senator Feinstein. She introduced the first assault weapons ban 31 years ago after a school shooting at Stockton, California.Republicans allowed the original ban to expire in 2004 and there has not been enough support to pass a new version since then.“I know it sounds naive or futile but I still believe, as I did back in the 1990s, that gun violence prevention is not red or blue, it is American,” Senator Blumenthal says.The House narrowly passed a ban in 2022 when Democrats had the majority, but it went nowhere in the Senate.If it were to somehow pass Congress, President Trump has shown hostility toward gun rights restrictions. Mr. Trump promised a rollback of gun-control policies during his campaign.In February, he issued Executive Order 14206, directing the attorney general to examine all executive actions and present a proposed plan to protect Second Amendment rights.The administration has also signaled it could shift its positions on several pending Second Amendment cases, including one asking the courts whether ownership of suppressors should be protected by the Constitution.

Congressional Democrats Push New Ban on ‘Assault’-Style Rifles, Accessories

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