In a first-of-its-kind move, the United States House backed legislation Friday restoring a ban on certain semi-automatic rifles, which are frequently used in the onslaught of mass shootings ripping through communities around the country. Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed the vote through the Democratic-controlled House, saying the prior prohibition “saved lives.”
The measure is an important step toward establishing gun control in the country. President Joe Biden praised the House decision, adding, “The majority of the American people agree with this common sense measure.” He asked the Senate to “act expeditiously to bring this bill on my desk.”
What exactly are semi-automatic rifles?
Once prohibited in the United States, high-powered weapons are now widely blamed as the weapon of choice for many of the most lethal mass shootings. But, failing to generate the political backing to challenge the powerful gun lobby and reinstate the weapons ban, Congress allowed the restrictions put in place in 1994 on the manufacture and sale of the weapons to expire a decade later.
It is, however, likely to die in the 50-50 Senate. Republicans have derided the House plan as a Democratic election-year tactic. The House bill, which passed 217-213, was opposed by nearly all Republicans.
Gun violence and shootings in the United States
The law comes at a time when there are growing concerns about gun violence and shootings, such as the supermarket shooting in Buffalo, N.Y., the slaughter of schoolchildren in Uvalde, Texas, and the July Fourth shootings of revellers in Highland Park, Ill. Voters appear to be taking such election-year ballots seriously when Congress breaks along party lines and members are compelled to go on the record with their positions. A recent move to shield same-sex weddings from prospective Supreme Court legal challenges received surprise bipartisan backing.
As a senator in 1994, Biden was important in securing the first semi-automatic weapons prohibition. According to the Biden administration, mass shootings decreased for ten years while the prohibition was in effect. “When the restriction expired in 2004, mass shootings increased,” the statement added.
Republicans reject gun control legislation.
During a heated discussion before of the election, Republicans stood fast against restrictions on the ownership of high-powered rifles. “It’s a gun grab, plain and simple,” said Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa. Democrats argued that the gun restriction made sense, characterising Republicans as extremist and out of touch with ordinary Americans.
Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., stated that the weapons prohibition is not about taking away Americans’ Second Amendment rights, but about assuring that children have the right “not to be shot in school.”
Two Ohio lawmakers clashed in one encounter. “Your freedom ends where mine and my constituents’ begin,” Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur told Republican Rep. Jim Jordan. “Schools, shopping malls, grocery stores, and Independence Day parades should not be places of mass devastation and bloodshed.”
