House Dems Reintroduce Assault Weapons Ban

  Congressman Eliot Engel, a member of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, and a record 190 House Democrats have reintroduced H.R. 1296, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2019, legislation that would ban the sale, manufacture, or possession of new military-style assault weapons. The bill, authored by Rep. David Cicilline and originally cosponsored by Engel, would reinstate the ban on assault weapons that was allowed to lapse 15 years ago under Republican leadership.

“Last week marked the one year anniversary since 17 lives were taken by a weapon of war at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Nearly 40,000 Americans have been killed by guns since then. The American people, our children, our communities—we’ve all endured enough horror from gun violence,” Rep. Engel said. “Mass shootings have become so common in this country that most of the time they don’t even make the news cycle. This should give us all pause. What’s more, the prevalence and wide availability of assault weapons has increased fatalities during mass shootings substantially. This madness has to end. We banned assault weapons in 1994 because we recognized that weapons of war don’t belong on our streets. I proudly voted for that bill then, and I’m proud to support a reinstitution of it now. The NRA doesn’t run the U.S. House of Representatives anymore. House Democrats do.”   

Assault weapons have been the weapon of choice in many of country’s worst mass shootings. In the ten years after the previous assault weapons ban expired, mass shootings where six or more people were killed increased by 183%.

In response to these continuing tragedies, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2019 would ban the sale of:

• Semi-automatic rifles and pistols with a military-style feature that can accept a detachable magazine;
• Semi-automatic rifles with a fixed magazine that can hold more than 10 rounds;
• Semi-automatic shotguns with a military-style feature;
• Any ammunition feeding device that can hold more than 10 rounds;
• And 205 specifically-named and listed firearms.