A mainly symbolic vote by the Democratic majority in the US House on Friday night to outlaw the sale of semi-automatic rifles similar to those used in recent mass killings is unlikely to pass the Senate.
On a party-line vote of 217-213, the law was approved 18 years after the previous assault weapon ban expired. Because Democrats and Republicans couldn’t agree on clauses addressing law enforcement accountability for abuses, they withdrew a public safety bill that would have raised money for police departments.
Just over a month after Congress passed gun legislation for the first time in three decades, the House took action on the assault weapons ban. The law that was passed on Friday would outlaw the sale of semi-automatic guns with a military aesthetic and rapid-fire capability. The ban is a reaction to the widespread shootings that took place with AR-15-style rifles in Buffalo, New York, Uvalde, Texas, and Highland Park, Illinois.
The 50-50 Senate would need 60 votes to pass any measure, and Republicans are adamantly opposed to any new gun control measures.
President Joe Biden stated in a statement on Friday night that “Today, House Democrats acted by united to approve an assault weapons prohibition to keep weapons of war off our streets, save lives in this country, and reduce crime in our neighborhoods.” “The majority of Americans support this common sense course of action. I need this law to pass the Senate fast, and I won’t stop fighting until it does.
Before the vote, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote to Democrats to let them know that work on the policing measure would continue and that it would be brought up when the House returns to Washington after its August recess to vote on a tax and climate bill that is pending Senate approval.
In a hearing on mass shootings this month, Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican who assisted in negotiating the bipartisan gun bill that was passed in June, opposed a ban on assault weapons.
He declared, “One thing I won’t do is weaken the fundamental rights of law-abiding individuals.”
Vicente Gonzalez and Henry Cuellar of Texas, Jared Golden of Maine, Kurt Schrader of Oregon, and Ron Kind of Wisconsin were the only House Democrats to vote against the bill. Chris Jacobs of New York and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, both Republicans, cast yes votes.
Kind said in a statement that he was worried about how the current measure would restrict access to conventional hunting rifles, shotguns, and other handguns used by law-abiding gun owners and sportsmen around the nation.
Fitzpatrick and Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat from New Jersey, serve as co-chairs of the House’s bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus. Jacobs, whose district is close to Buffalo, made the decision not to run for re-election after sparking a debate about gun control among Republicans.
Democrats will carry on discussing the legislation governing policing. The Congressional Black Caucus and progressives, who contend that it might not go far enough in holding police departments accountable for misconduct, are still unable to support it. The American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy organizations spoke out against the proposals as written and asked lawmakers to reject the legislation.
The police legislation, promoted by Virginia’s Gottheimer and Abigail Spanberger, both moderate Democrats, would enhance money for small units, invest in recruiting efforts, and spend in community policing. Although the Assault Weapons Ban is a Democratic priority, proposals by Gottheimer and Spanberger have received support from both parties and may advance in the Senate.
Former Congressional Progressive Caucus head Mark Pocan of Wisconsin stated several members believed the proposals were being hurried.
It doesn’t mean you bypass the committee process and the entire Congress and hold your breath to get something done just because you’re like, “I suddenly need this law and I’m about to go home,” Pocan said.
The policing bill, according to Florida Representative Stephanie Murphy, chair of the Blue Dog Caucus, is “critically vital.”
The Congressional Black Caucus head, Representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio, said the House will continue to work on the legislation and that failing to pass the public-safety package before the House leaves for its August recess is not a loss.
There was success today, she declared.
