Senate Democrats Introduce Major Gun Ban Bill

Senate Democrats Wednesday introduced a major gun control bill that would ban so-called assault-style weapons and ammunition.

The bill — sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and other Senate Democrats — would make it illegal to sell more than 200 types of semi-automatic weapons as well as magazines holding more than ten rounds of ammunition. The proposal would also ban devices that ramp up firing speed, such as the bump stock used in the Las Vegas shooting last month.

The bill is similar to a 2013 measure Feinstein introduced following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School and comes after a string of deadly shootings in October and November.

It would expand background checks to all gun sales and require “a safe storage requirement for grandfathered firearms.”

“We’re introducing an updated Assault Weapons Ban for one reason - so that after every mass shooting with a military-style assault weapon, the American people will know that a tool to reduce these massacres is sitting in the Senate, ready for debate and a vote,” Feinstein said in a statement.

The new version of the bill appears to increase the number of banned firearms from 157 to 205.

Feinstein is unlikely to see her legislation make it to the Senate floor, which is run by the GOP.

Republicans are instead planning a hearing an potential legislation aimed at fixing the gaps in current federal regulations that permitted the sale of bump stocks.

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, is also planning to draft legislation that would “incentivize” better reporting of criminal convictions to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

The shooter who killed 26 people at a Texas church on Sunday was able to purchase a firearm after the Air Force failed to report a criminal conviction that would have blocked the sale.

Feinstein on Wednesday argued her bill would do more to stop mass shootings.

The legislation would reinstate the ban on many semi-automatic weapons that was in place for a decade under a Clinton-era gun control law. Feinstein said the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban caused a 6.7 percent decrease in gun deaths, according to the Department of Justice.

The Feinstein bill would eliminate the 10-year sunset and make the law permanent.