The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday will vote on Democratic legislation to ban assault weapons, presumably including many AR-15 style semi-automatic rifles designed originally for the military that are an increasingly common choice of mass shooters.
Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman says it’s unclear if the bill, HB 1808, will pass. It’s “gonna be tight.” The legislation has well over 200 co-sponsors.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced the vote, which comes just before the August recess.
“Today, our Democratic Majority will take up and pass the Assault Weapons Ban legislation,” Pelosi declared in a letter to Democratic lawmakers, calling it “a crucial step in our ongoing fight against the deadly epidemic of gun violence in our nation.”
“More mass shooters are using semi-automatic rifles,” USA Today reports, noting they are “often bought legally.”
“Gun-makers made millions marketing AR-15-style guns as a sign of manhood,” the Associated Press reported Thursday.
The Gun Violence Archive reports as of July 29, 2022, there have been 25,530 gun violence deaths this year, including nearly 200 children aged 0 to 11 years old, and well over 400 deaths of children 12-17. There have been 373 mass shootings this year alone. In the past 72 hours there have been over 275 separate incidents, where at least one person was shot or killed.
“Gun-makers have taken in more than $1 billion from selling AR-15-style guns over the past decade,” the AP added, “at times marketing them as a way for young men to prove their masculinity, even as the number of mass shootings increases, according to a House investigation unveiled Wednesday.”
Reuters adds that the legislation “faces a tough road in the narrowly divided U.S. Senate.”
This is a breaking news and developing story.