Pelosi Announces House Will Vote Immediately on ‘Assault Weapon’ Ban After Democrat Infighting

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced in a July 29 letter to Democrats that an intra-party impasse over a bill to ban assault weapons had been bridged, and said that a vote on the bill will be held the same day.

The bill would ban an array of semi-automatic firearms dubbed “assault weapons” by critics, though the exact meaning of the term has long been contested by Republicans and Second Amendment advocates.

In a “Dear Colleague” letter, Pelosi wrote: “House Democrats are committed to building safer communities, in every corner of the country. To that end, our Members have been working on a robust package of public safety bills and have made immense progress in our discussions. Work continues on this essential legislation, and we plan to bring this legislation to the Floor—increasing safety with accountability.”

“Today, our Democratic Majority will take up and pass the Assault Weapons Ban legislation: a crucial step in our ongoing fight against the deadly epidemic of gun violence in our nation,” Pelosi continued, asking her caucus to support a “same-day authority” procedural vote to allow the bill to move forward. “In order to succeed in passing the Assault Weapons Ban, we must first pass same-day authority so that we can pass the Rule enabling us to bring up the Assault Weapons Ban.

“Please vote yes on same-day authority, yes on the Rule for the Assault Weapons Ban, and yes on the legislation to reinstate the Assault Weapons Ban.

“Thanks for putting People Over Politics,” the brief letter concluded.

Initially, the bill was set for consideration on July 27.

However, that vote was delayed after infighting among Democrats—several Democrats reportedly had refused to vote for the bill—threw into doubt the possibility of advancing the legislation through the House. Because Democrats hold the lower chamber by four seats, Pelosi can scarcely afford to lose a single vote on the legislation, which