Politics

Episcopal dean of the National Cathedral teaming up with Democrats on guns

Alex Pappas Political Reporter
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The Episcopal priest who serves as dean of the Washington National Cathedral is teaming up with Democratic politicians and calling for ban on certain types of guns.

The Very Reverend Gary R. Hall of the Washington National Cathedral is scheduled to appear with several high-profile liberal senators on Thursday at the Capitol for a press conference introducing the “Assault Weapons Ban of 2013.”

According to a news release, the bill would impose restrictions on “military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition feeding devices.”

Among the senators who are set to appear at the press conference include anti-gun liberals like California Sen. Dianne Feinstein and New York Sen. Chuck Schumer.

Law enforcement officers, gun safety organizations, doctor and teacher organizations and victims of gun violence are also expected to attend the announcement.

Hall, who became the tenth dean of the National Cathedral in October 2012, has been using his sermons to call for gun control since the elementary school massacre in Newtown, Conn. In a news release, the Cathedral said he received a standing ovation from the congregation after his sermon on Sunday.

According to that release, Hall and the Cathedral “have come to the end of the ‘preaching part,’ and are now turning their attention toward organizing in support of a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, supporting universal background checks, and supporting stiffer criminal penalties for those engaged in gun trafficking.”

“I believe we at the Cathedral need to get behind the President and Vice President’s recommendations on gun control legislation, supporting a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, supporting universal background checks, and supporting stiffer criminal penalties for those engaged in gun trafficking,” Hall said Sunday.

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