House of Representatives Panel Advances Bill That Would Ban ‘Assault Weapons’

A House of Representatives panel on July 20 advanced a bill that would ban the sale of a number of semi-automatic rifles, referred to by Democrats as “assault weapons.”

H.R. 1808, or the Assault Weapons Ban of 2021, was advanced in a 25–18 vote by the House Judiciary Committee.

“As we have painfully learned in recent years, assault weapons—especially when combined with high-capacity magazines—are the weapon of choice for mass shootings because they’re designed to kill with ruthless efficiency,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), the chairman of the panel, said in a statement. “This legislation will remove these dangerous weapons of war from our communities and is another step towards keeping our children and families safe from gun violence.”

Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), who authored the legislation, said that a similar bill that was passed and signed into law, and in effect from 1994 through 2004, worked.

“As soon as the ban expired, fatalities and shootings skyrocketed again,” he said.

Researchers have returned mixed results as to whether the ban worked. One paper (pdf) found that the use of banned guns declined, but the utilization of other types of firearms offset the decline.

All Democrats voted to advance the bill. All Republicans voted against the advancement.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the committee’s ranking member, said the bill was the latest offered by Democrats that violates the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment.

“‘The right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.’ Plain and simple It doesn’t say ‘right to keep and bear muskets shall not be infringed.’ It doesn’t say, ‘shall not be infringed unless Democrats say this weapon looks so scary we have to get rid of it,’” he said before the vote.

Full House Vote

While Democrats hold a slim majority in the House, it’s unclear whether Democrat leaders will hold

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