Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the measure, which passed 217 to 213, “a critical step in our ongoing fight against the deadly epidemic of gun violence in our country.” Only two Republicans, Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Chris Jacobs of New York, joined Democrats in supporting the bill. Five Democrats voted against the measure: Reps. Henry Cuellar of Texas, Jared Golden of Maine, Ron Kidd of Wisconsin, Vicente Gonzalez of Texas and Kurt Schrader of Oregon. The legislation would make it illegal to sell, manufacture, transport, possess or import assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition feeding devices. It has no chance of passing in the evenly divided Senate, where such a sweeping gun control measure would be unable to win the 10 Republicans it would need to break a vicious cycle. But the vote provided a way for Democrats to show voters months before the midterm elections that they were trying to address America’s epidemic of gun violence. The action in the House came after a series of mass shootings, including one in Uvalde, Texas, where a gunman wielding an AR-15-style weapon killed 19 elementary school students and two teachers.
Gun Violence and Gun Control in America
In a statement Friday night, President Biden applauded the House’s passage of the assault weapons ban. “The majority of the American people agree with this common sense action,” he said, adding that “there is no greater responsibility than to do everything we can to ensure the safety of our families, our children, our homes, our our communities. and our nation.” The vote also gave Democrats another opportunity to make a sharp distinction with Republicans. This month, the House passed legislation to ensure nationwide access to contraception, as well as important safeguards for abortion and same-sex marriage. While Democratic senators hope they can pass same-sex marriage legislation, nearly all Republicans in Congress are united against the contraception and abortion bills. The assault weapons debate on Friday came about a month after the passage of bipartisan gun safety legislation, a compromise measure to tougher background checks for prospective buyers under the age of 21, aimed at keeping guns out of hand. dangerous people. That measure omitted tighter gun controls that Democrats have long called for and most Republicans opposed as violations of the right to bear arms. “Weapons of war are designed for war,” Representative Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, said Friday, lamenting that such firearms are “easier for a teenager to acquire than to buy a beer.” He dismissed the newly enacted law as a “weak, mediocre measure.” Republicans have argued that AR-15-style weapons are popular sporting rifles used by law-abiding citizens for self-defense and hunting. And they dismissed the assault weapons bill as an attempt by liberals to trample on gun rights without doing anything to address the root causes of crime. “Let’s call it what it is: It’s a gun grab, pure and simple,” said Representative Guy Reschenthaler, Republican of Pennsylvania. “This bill is not about public safety. Rather, this is the most severe restriction on the Second Amendment since the passage of the assault weapons ban in 1994.” While Friday’s vote united Democrats, the assault weapons ban sparked a heated internal debate that exposed divisions over the issue of law enforcement and crime, an issue Republicans have signaled will be a major element of their campaign. attack on Democrats before the midterm elections. Democrats had originally planned to pair the assault weapons ban vote with legislation that would provide more funding to local police departments. Moderate Democrats from conservative districts argued that the police funding vote would ease Republican accusations that Democrats are soft on crime and bent on defunding the police. However, the police legislation drew criticism from progressives and members of the Congressional Black Congress, who insisted that more police accountability measures should be included. With the House’s August recess beginning this weekend, Democratic leaders decided to hold a vote only on the assault weapons bill. Ms. Pelosi said Friday that lawmakers would continue working on the police legislation after they return to Washington later this summer. When the House passed the crime bill in 1994, which included an assault weapons ban, 46 Republicans supported the legislation and 64 Democrats opposed it. The ban expired in 2004 and has never been renewed. the Republican Party is united against such a measure. “The American people are tired of living in fear,” said Representative Jim McGovern, D-Mass. “They are tired of thoughts and prayers. They are tired of press releases that offer sympathy but no solutions.” “This is not a radical idea,” he added. “We are not in uncharted territory.”