The House voted Friday to reinstate a ban on assault-style weapons that lapsed 18 years ago, following a string of high-profile mass shootings.
The 217-213 vote that passed mainly along party lines is largely symbolic, as the bill has little chance of clearing the 60-vote Senate threshold needed to enact most legislation. The measure would reinstate a ban on the sale and manufacture of semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity magazines that took effect in 1994 and expired in 2004, which Democrats contend will curb gun violence.
PREVENTING RESPONSIBLE GUN OWNERSHIP WILL NOT MAKE AMERICA SAFER
Five Democrats were opposed: Reps. Henry Cuellar (TX), Jared Golden (ME), Vicente Gonzalez (TX), Ron Kind (WI), and Kurt Schrader (OR). Two Republicans broke with their party and voted in favor of the ban: Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA) and Chris Jacobs (NY), who represents Buffalo, where 10 people were fatally shot at a grocery store on May 14.
“Just last year, we mourned the loss of 10 people who were shot [and] murdered at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, in my district,” Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO) said from the House floor in reference to the March 22, 2021, mass shooting. “The federal assault weapons ban expired in 2004, and the scourge of gun violence has only grown more pervasive across our country. In 1994, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle joined together to a pass similar act to what we are voting on today. Let’s pass this bill for our children and for safer communities.”
But Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) said the bill would make communities less safe and that its constitutionality is dubious.
“Here’s the fact: This bill is unconstitutional,” he said during debate. “The Supreme Court made clear that it protects firearms in common use. This bill has eight pages of weapons, firearms that it bans, including 24 million firearms that American citizens lawfully possess today. That is the fact.”
The mass shootings in Highland Park, Illinois; Uvalde, Texas; Buffalo, and other communities prompted the Democratic-led Congress and the White House to push for action on guns.
“The Administration strongly supports passage of H.R. 1808, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2022,” the Biden administration said in a statement. “40,000 Americans die from gunshot wounds every year and guns have become the top killer of children in the United States. As President Biden has repeatedly called for, we must do more to stop this gun violence and save lives.”
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced Friday morning that the bill would get a vote on the last day of session before the August recess, separate from a broader public safety bill, after Democrats failed to reach an internal deal on law enforcement support. This late development upset some centrists Democrats who hoped to have a successful policing bill under their belts as they enter a crucial part of the campaign season, according to Politico.
