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In 2004, the NRA successfully pressured the Republican-controlled government into not renewing the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban. The ban had been working to protect lives; after it expired the number of gun massacre deaths (which had decreased over 40% during the ban) jumped nearly 2.5 fold.
Gun violence experts are now renewing their calls for a nationwide ban on these types of weapons - and Americans agree - recent polls show at least two-thirds of Americans support a nationwide assault weapons ban.
To reinstate an assault weapons ban, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has introduced S. 66 and Representative David Cicilline (D-RI) has introduced H.R. 1296, both titled the Assault Weapons Ban of 2019. These bills would ban future sales of high-capacity magazines and military-style assault weapons, including the AR-15 used in many recent gun massacres. Legislators must act now before any more lives are needlessly lost.