BILL: Ban Assault Weapons? - Assault Weapons Ban of 2023 - S.25
Are we doing enough to address gun violence?
Bill
S.25 - Assault Weapons Ban of 2023
Bill Status
- Introduced: January 1, 2023, by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
- Committees: Senate - Judiciary
- Senate: Not yet passed
- President: Not yet signed
Bill Overview
- The bill bans the sale, manufacture, transfer, and importation of 205 military-style assault weapons by name.
- It exempts more than 2,200 guns from the ban, which can still be used for hunting, household defense, or recreational purposes.
- It shall be unlawful for a person to import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semi-automatic assault weapon.
- It requires a background check on any future sale, trade, or gifting of an assault weapon banned under the bill.
- It will impose secure storage procedures for grandfathered semi-automatic assault weapons like a trigger lock.
- Anyone in possession of a grandfathered weapon can not keep it in a place where it is accessible to an individual prohibited from possessing the firearm.
What's in the bill?
Would make communities safer
- A vast majority of mass shootings in the U.S. involve assault rifles, which are designed to kill quickly in a military context.
- Since 2006, 2,880 people have died in mass shootings in the U.S.
Would re-establish former assault weapons ban
- The bill is a more expansive modern version of the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban.
- From 1994 through 2004, when the federal ban on assault weapons was in place, mass shootings decreased. Data shows an immediate rise in shootings after the ban expired in 2004.
Bans the sale, transfer, manufacture, and importation of military-style assault weapons
- The bill will also ban high-capacity magazines and ammunition-feeding devices that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
- It also bans bump-fire stocks and other devices that allow semi-automatic weapons to fire at fully automatic rates.
Would ban the AR-15 assault rifle
- Barry Moore (R-AL) has promoted a bill to make the AR-15 the national gun of the U.S. This bill would outlaw the possession of AR-15s.
- As of May 2022, before the Uvalde and Buffalo shootings, 51% of Americans favored a nationwide ban on the sale of AR-15 rifles.
Creates a record of crimes that have been committed with a banned weapon
- It enables the Attorney General to establish and maintain records of any semi-automatic assault weapons used in committing a crime. The Attorney General will submit the records to Congress and make the records public on an annual basis.
Argument for
"The constant stream of mass shootings have one common thread: they almost all involve assault weapons. It's because these weapons were designed to kill as many people as quickly as possible. They have no business in our communities or schools. It's time we stand up to the gun lobby and remove these weapons of war from our streets, or at the very least keep them out of the hands of young people."
"Assault weapons have only one practical purpose – to kill or injure human beings. These military-style combat weapons – built for the battlefield and designed to maximize death and destruction – have brought bloodshed and carnage to our streets and continue to be the weapon of choice in countless mass shootings. Guns don't respect state boundaries, which is why we need a national solution to restricting the ownership and use of assault weapons. Now is the time to honor gun violence victims and survivors with this common sense action."
"It is far past time to reenact an assault weapons ban and get these weapons of war out of our communities."
Argument against
- Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL), the sponsor of the bill that would make the AR-15 the national symbol of the U.S., said:
"The anti-Second Amendment group won't stop until they take away all your firearms. One rule to remember: any government that would take away one right would take away them all."
Are we doing enough to address gun violence?
—Emma Kansiz
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Under the 1994 assault weapons ban mass shooting decreased until it expired and then they increased.
https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2023/03/did-assault-weapon-ban-correspond-with-drop-in-mass-shootings-what-the-data-shows.html?outputType=amp
Didn't know which question to answer.
No, we're not doing enough.
Yes, I support an assault weapons ban.
The only thing all these mass murders have in common is guns. Stop the guns.
This is confusing. Should we ban assault weapons? Yes. Are we doing enough? No.
Assault weapons need to be banned, and no one should own one.
Okay @Causes. This was tricky. Which question am I answering. Should we ban assault weapons? (Yes!) Or is it Are we doing enough? (No) You can't ask two questions on the same poll that are opposing views. What the hell?
After listening to the tragic Uvalde review this morning on NPR. I was totally unaware police officers flack vest can not fend off an AR rifle bullet. The only officers with vest that can help some what was the SWAT Team who was over an hour away. Two officers were shot attempting to get the shooter. That changes my whole opinion of the AR rifle and large magazines. I am just not sure if the Ban on AR style rifles and large magazines would help. Or would it be a run on those rifles and magazines. It amazes me how companies can see the harm their products are doing. But the $$ means more than innocent lives of children and regular folks. Big business is running America. Our politicians are afraid of losing their positions in office, if they speak out. This is very similar to the tobacco industry a few years ago. Only now they make their money off countries other the United States. Sad isn't it, and we have so many frozen into the belief, they need these weapons.
Not a total ban but make it more difficult to get one, require training, and raise the age for getting one to 21 years old.
Hoven and Cramer,
If you're so hell bent on saving lives (abortion), ban assault weapons, put in place better background checks, stop taking money from the NRA!
Raise the age limit for purchasing a gun and ban assault weapons.
our government wants the little people of america dead!!! otherwise this issue would already have been handled. bug money, power & control exists among the guns. Anetucan Horror Stories 101!!! no hope
"Assault weapon" is a made up term to scare ignorant people who know nothing about guns into giving up their rights.
If you vote against laws designed to safeguard our children then you're just a horrible person who should be voted out as soon as possible. Republicans are the party of hatred and death and the Democrats are the party of wimps. When will our government start representing us instead of catering to the rich? Our country's history for over 400 years has been about representing the corrupt powerful few who own everything. Just study slavery, colonialism, and the gilded age and you'll understand. I could go and on about the evils perpetrated against native peoples of this country. When will we get rid of this garbage??
Do more, make more noise, run a campaign on the statistics and who supports the NRA everyday until there is so much public outcry these weapons of mass destruction are removed entirely from public sale and collected from private ownership. The foolishness that led to this epidemic must stop.
Most people want this.
So much for being "represented"!
NRA: (wink, wink)
The Republicans and their rich owners want anarchy and chaos, desperation, gluttany, fear, hatred, ignorance and propaganda because it's what the rich want. The rich declared war on the working class and poor class and we know they belong in jail, the entire lot of the rich and their corporations that do crimes under the name of the organization who is their mascot which takes the guilt yet pays a small fee at times for extremely offensive abuses that kill Americans. The rich are too rich and as pre-warned by the founders the rich would always need to be watched and voted against because all they plan to do is buy our representatives in congress, the senate, the Supreme Court and the presidency to fleece our economy and create a police state. They're terrorists all right and they need to be put in jail for supporting former president Trump's big lie! He's a traitor! Get me our justice. You know what I tell you that God is going to punish you unless you make aware to all Americans that the Republican party has one goal, of the rich by the rich and for the rich. They want to undo every last thing FDR did for the people of America. They want to take us to the days of Hitler and American neonazi, authoritarian, Oligarchy, anarchy and chaos ultimately as well as the final genocide. So we sit by and watch our call em out and smash em! We smash! #WeSmash
It's time that Congress legislate based on the constituent majority view- PRIORITIZE THE LIVES OF INNOCENTS OVER GUN OWNERSHIP!
Gun control manages guns not people. No reason for ordinary citizens to own high-capacity firearms and magazines, bump stocks, and any military-grade weaponry. One bullet kills just as easily as a hundred.
Second Amendment calls for well-armed MILITIA--NOT well-armed private citizens. I shouldn't have to be afraid to walk out my front door; given random drive-by shootings in a presumedly "safe" neighborhood (BTNA) where my husband and I have resided for 40 years, such safety is now a luxury. MY right to "the pursuit of happiness" has been violated due to others' gun-crazed actions.
There is no reason for a citizen to own or be flouting an automatic weapon. These weapons were made for one purpose: to kill many people quickly with few developed skills. If anyone says they hunt with an automatic weapon, please take their hunting and driver's licenses because they have no sense of responsibility.
Congress won't even pass common sense laws to try and stem the violence. How those who refuse to do anything because they rely on the monies from the NRA (which I read somewhere doen 't even have to pay taxes? Is that true? If so, BS on that.) and the votes from Donald's rabid minions can time after horrific time offer "thoughts and prayers " to parents who sent their child to school and later had to identify them by their tennis shoes because they were blown in half or no longer had a face, is beyond me. Congress should be made to see the damage that has been done to these little ones because seeing people weep on TV and seeing the memorials and candle vigils is not even makeing a dent.
Seriously?
You are still putting the GUN LOBBY ahead of the lives of children? And adults? and EVEN POLICE???
Get off your butts and DO WHAT THE MAJORITY OF AMERICANS WANT... a BAN on ASSAULT WEAPONS... background checks...and even RED FLAG laws.
Instead of putting all your energy into retaining power and defeating Democrats. Doing that WILL NOT help the Americans that put you in office.
Ya'll get an F grade from the public for actually doing the job you were sent to do... Make America the Best Place to Live
We are doing all we can without discriminating against the people who commit a majority of the gun crimes and shootings.
Taking guns from the mentally ill and using red flag laws to remove guns from violent offenders, gangs, and drug dealers would result in discrimination both sexual and racial
Maybe republicans won't ban them because there getting ready for Desantis gets elected they can take over the whole country and destroy it like he has Florida.
Only Unless the Republican Party are removed from office in both the state and federal governments will any charge happen.
Also the supreme courts and the state supreme courts judges !!!
We are obviously not doing enough to combat gun violence because people who are legally not allowed to own guns keep getting guns. But the answer is not to disarm the law abiding citizens.
No we are not doing enough and yes, they should be eliminated.
There should be proper background checks.
Criminals and nuts that want to die taking innocents with them should nevre have access to guns.
Bad dealers that sell to criminals should be prosecuted.
Unfortunalty, there is a false narrative emboldened by this Supreme court that all have individual Constitutional rights to have guns. This is nonsense.
More specificaly:
The colonists as British citizens had a legal right to bear arms.
The Colonists that fought for independence had a legal right to bear arms under the Continental Congress.
US citizens had the legal right to bear arms under our first government, the Articles of Confederation.
The US constitution does not specify any right to bear arms and so all gun rights are legal rights. Importantly, the Constitution does define the raising of and use of well regulated State militias.
Article 1, section 8, Clause 15 To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;.
Article 2, section 2. The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States;
Now that you read Article 1 section 8 and Article 2 Section 2, re-read the 2nd amendment.
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” The key word is infringed. Infringe: to encroach upon in a way that violates law or the rights of another.
:
So in this light, isn’t the 2nd amendment is about militias, not guns? Therefore, all gun rights are legal rights as long as they are not so prohibitive to prevent the formation of a Militia if needed.
Every Court case about gun laws have seen the 2nd amendment in this light. Does the law limit gun ownership to a point where a militia can not be formed. Every Court case that is until 2008 and the Robert’s Court’s Heller Decision where they decided against all past law and precedence to extend the 2nd amendment to individual rights. In their opinion, the Originalist Supreme Court Justices, stated, "…the right existed prior to the formation of the new government under the Constitution" which is obviously absurd.
Lastly, In 1903, to deal with too many states unable to muster a militia, the National Guard was formed. There is no longer any such thing as State Militias and so is not the 2nd amendment meaningless now?
We are the parents of three children, nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. The MAGA Republicans continuing in the process of harming my entire family. Please, please, stop utilizing assault weapons against my American family. We expect to hear from all of you!