In the midst of ongoing discussions over legislation to support the police, the House voted on Friday to outlaw semiautomatic assault rifles.
The bill was defeated by a vote of 217–213, according to the Associated Press, with almost all Republicans voting against it. And since Democrats were unable to get enough support for a ban on such weapons during past gun control discussions, the plan now faces stiff opposition in the Senate.
Semiautomatic assault rifles and large-capacity ammunition feeding mechanisms would be prohibited under the proposed legislation, while some of these firearms would be grandfathered in. According to reports published by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms under the Clinton and Bush administrations, the definition of semiautomatic assault weapons in the bill includes rifles, shotguns, and pistols that are semiautomatic, can accept a detachable ammunition feeding device, and have at least one other military-style feature that can make the firearm “especially deadly.”
The measure permits persons who currently own a firearm on the day the bill would become law to possess assault weapons. Additionally, it would permit the sale or transfer of lawfully possessed assault weapons after a background investigation.
A semiautomatic assault weapon would be illegal to import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess in interstate or international commerce, according to the proposed legislation.
Democrats believe that such a prohibition will help stop some mass massacres in the future. However, not all Democrats support it. Kurt Schrader, Henry Cuellar, and Jared Golden, all centrist Democrats, have publicly opposed such a prohibition.
A similar prohibition on assault-style weapons that was passed in 1994 and went into effect in 2004 would be reinstated by the new law. Certain assault weapons and large-capacity magazines were prohibited under the statute.
President Biden has long advocated for the prohibition to be reinstated; he served as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee when it was approved in 1994.
“Assault weapons need to be banned,” the president said earlier this month when he signed a bipartisan gun control bill into law. “I’m determined to ban these weapons again.”
As the midterm elections this fall draw near, some Democrats had wanted to vote on both the assault weapons prohibition and the police funding measure on Friday, the last day the House is in session before the August break. Progressives said they haven’t struck an agreement yet and are seeking for greater accountability requirements to be connected to police spending.
The public safety proposals will be revisited in August, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, when legislators are anticipated to temporarily reconvene to address other outstanding legislation, the AP reports.
“House Democrats are committed to building safer communities, in every corner of the country,” Pelosi said in a letter to the Democratic caucus Friday. “To that end, our members have been working on a robust package of public safety bills and have made immense progress in our discussions. Work continues on this essential legislation, and we plan to bring this legislation to the floor — increasing safety with accountability.”