House Passes Assault Weapons Ban

“House Democrats passed an assault weapons ban for the first time in roughly 30 years Friday, a legislative feat on a politically fraught issue that tested the unity of the caucus,” the Washington Post reports.

“The historic legislation passed along party lines with a razor-thin majority and with only two Republicans voting in support. The bill faces virtually no chance of passage in an evenly-split Senate.”

“The passage of an assault weapons ban is a significant feat for any chamber of Congress. Multiple attempts for the legislation to even be considered in committees were jettisoned. But the rise of mass shootings that have touched every corner of American life since the previous assault weapon ban expired in 2004 has catapulted the issue to a top priority for Democrats, who have long pushed for reforms to gun laws.”