Senate Republicans blocked legislation that would have banned certain semi-automatic firearms Wednesday, with one calling the proposed ban “unjustified and unconstitutional.”
Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming blocked the Senate from passing the legislation by blocking a unanimous consent request by Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York. The legislation was based on a 1994 law that banned certain semi-automatic rifles based on cosmetic features and detachable magazines holding more than ten rounds. (RELATED: ‘The View’ Co-Hosts Regurgitate False Claims About AR-15s While Demanding Ban)
“They describe semi-automatic rifles as assault rifles. They aren’t. Any farmer rancher or outdoorsman in Wyoming can tell you these rifles work the same way as popular shotguns and other rifles used for hunting and for personal protection,” Barrasso said during a speech on the Senate floor. “Instead of facing these facts, Democrats stick to demonizing rifles and disrespecting gun owners. Democrats’ ban on assault weapons is an assault on lawful gun owners.”
WATCH:
Rifles of any type were used in 541 killings in 2022, according to the FBI’s 2022 Uniform Crime Report Data Explorer. Handguns were used in 7,936 killings, while knives were used in 1,630 killings and personal weapons (defined as hands, fists and feet) were used in 665 killings.
“There’s a contradiction at the center of the gun control debate,” Barrasso said. “Democrats want to enact new laws on law abiding citizens. At the same time, they ignore the law breakers. Almost every single page of the bill that’s in front of us today adds new restrictions and new burdens on people who follow the law. It tells you what you can buy, what you can’t buy. It bans more than 205 rifles, shotguns and pistols by name.”
Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California introduced the legislation, known as S.25, which bans the sale or transfer of the semiautomatic firearms listed or described, but allows current owners to keep them.
“Republicans reject these unjustified and unconstitutional restrictions,” Barrasso continued. “Democrats bumper sticker solution to gun ban — to ban guns is not about safety, it’s about restricting lawful gun ownership. It’s about trying to label responsible gun owners as criminals.”
Schumer, the Senate majority leader, criticized Barrasso for blocking the bill.
“We already have a decade’s worth of proof that a ban on military style assault works and saves lives, plain and simple,” Schumer said in a speech on the Senate floor after Barrasso’s objection.
“Studies have shown that the 1994 ‘assault weapons’ ban had little to no impact on reducing gun deaths,” U.S. Concealed Carry for Saving Lives Action Fund Executive Director Katie Pointer Baney said in a release. “And while anti-gun politicians and activists like to create a boogeyman out of semiautomatic rifles, the truth is they’re used in a tiny fraction of violent crime committed each year.”
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