Sen. Dianne Feinstein has re-introduced a bill to ban the sale of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.
Feinstein was joined by 22 other Democratic Senators in the wake of recent mass shootings in Texas and Nevada. The bill was introduced just days before the most recent mass shooting, which occurred Tuesday in Northern California.
“We’re introducing an updated assault weapons ban for one reason: so that after every mass shooting with a military-style assault weapon, the American people will know that a tool to reduce these massacres is sitting in the Senate, ready for debate and a vote,” Feinstein said in an update to constituents on Friday.
“This bill won’t stop every mass shooting, but it will begin removing these weapons of war from our streets,” she added.
Congress instituted a ban on assault weapons in 1994, but re-authorization failed in 2004 under pressure from the National Rifle Association.
The NRA’s lobbying arm quickly criticized Feinstein’s latest bill, saying “the 125-page firearm prohibition fever dream is perhaps the most far-reaching gun ban ever introduced in Congress” and urging gun supporters to contact their representatives.
