UPDATE (07/29/22): With a 217-213 vote, the House has passed H.R. 1808. The legislation now moves to the Senate for consideration.
In 2004, the National Rifle Association (NRA) successfully pressured the Republican-controlled government into preventing the renewal of 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 surveys show nearly two-thirds of Americans support a nationwide assault weapons ban.
To reinstate an assault weapons ban, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and and Representative David Cicilline (D-RI) have introduced the Assault Weapons Ban of 2021 (S. 736/H.R. 1808). 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.