WASHINGTON — In response to a series of mass shootings, a divided House approved an assault weapons ban Friday, overriding near-unanimous opposition from Republicans to reinstate a ban that expired nearly two decades ago.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi described the measure, which passed 217 to 213, as a “crucial step in our ongoing fight against the deadly epidemic of gun violence in our nation.” Only two Republicans, Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Chris Jacobs of New York, joined Democrats in supporting the bill.
Five Democrats voted against the measure: Reps. Henry Cuellar of Texas, Jared Golden of Maine, Ron Kind of Wisconsin, Vicente Gonzalez of Texas and Kurt Schrader of Oregon.
The legislation would make it illegal to sell, manufacture, transfer, possess or import assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition feeding devices. It has no chance of passing in the evenly divided Senate, where such a broad gun control measure could not win the 10 Republicans it would need to pass a filibuster.
Still, the vote gave Democrats a way to show voters months before the midterm elections that they were trying to address America’s epidemic of gun violence. The House action came after a series of mass shootings, including one in Uvalde, Texas, where a man armed with an AR-15-style weapon killed 19 elementary school students and two teachers.
Gun Violence and Gun Control in America
In a statement Friday evening, President Biden applauded the House’s passage of the assault weapons ban.
“The majority of the American people agree with this common sense action,” he said, adding that “there can be no greater responsibility than doing everything we can to ensure the safety of our families, our children, our homes, our communities. and our nation.”
The vote also gave Democrats another opportunity to establish a clear distinction with Republicans. This month, the House passed legislation to ensure nationwide access to contraception, as well as important protections for abortion and same-sex marriage. While Democratic senators are hopeful they can pass same-sex marriage legislation, nearly all Republicans in Congress are united in their opposition to contraception and abortion laws.
The assault weapons debate Friday came about a month after the enactment of bipartisan gun safety legislation, a compromise measure to toughen background checks on prospective buyers under the age of 21 that had as to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people.
That measure omitted stricter gun controls that Democrats have long demanded and most Republicans have opposed as infringing on the right to bear arms.
“Weapons of war are designed for war,” Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, said Friday, lamenting that such firearms are “easier for a teenager to get than to buy a beer.” .
He dismissed the newly enacted law as a “weak and modest measure.”
Republicans argued that AR-15-style guns are popular sporting rifles that law-abiding citizens use for self-defense and hunting. And they dismissed the assault weapons bill as an attempt by liberals to trample on gun rights without doing anything to address the root causes of crime.
“Let’s call this what it is: it’s a gun grab, pure and simple,” said Representative Guy Reschenthaler, Republican of Pennsylvania. “This bill is not about public safety. Rather, this is the most severe restriction on the Second Amendment since the passage of the 1994 assault weapons ban.”
While Friday’s vote united Democrats, the assault weapons ban sparked intense domestic debate that exposed divisions over the issue of law enforcement and crime, an issue that Republicans have noted will be a major element of his campaign attacks on Democrats ahead of the midterm elections. .
Democrats had originally planned to pair the vote to ban assault weapons with legislation that would provide more funding to local police departments. Moderate Democrats in conservative-leaning districts argued that approving police funding would dispel Republican accusations that Democrats are soft on crime and bent on defunding police.
But the police legislation drew criticism from progressives and members of the Congressional Black Caucus, who insisted that more police accountability measures should be included. With the House’s August recess beginning this weekend, Democratic leaders decided to hold a vote only on the assault weapons bill.
Ms. Pelosi said Friday that lawmakers will continue working on the police legislation after returning to Washington later this summer.
When the House passed the 1994 crime bill, which included a ban on assault weapons, 46 Republicans supported the legislation and 64 Democrats opposed it. The ban expired in 2004 and has never been renewed; the Republican Party is united in opposition to this measure.
“The American people are tired of living in fear,” said Representative Jim McGovern, D-Massachusetts. “They are tired of thoughts and prayers. They are tired of press releases that offer sympathy but no solutions.”
“This is not a radical idea,” he added. “We’re not in uncharted territory.”