GunsLawmaker unveils bill banning sale, manufacturing of 157 types of semiautomatic guns

Published 25 January 2013

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) yesterday unveiled the details of legislation that would ban the sale and manufacture of 157 types of semiautomatic guns and magazines holding more than ten rounds of ammunition. The bill would exempt firearms used for hunting and would grandfather in some guns and magazines. The senator said the bill aims “to dry up the supply of these weapons over time.”

Sen. Diane Feinstein with display of proposed banned weapons // Source: zocalo.com.mx

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) yesterday unveiled the details of legislation that would ban the sale and manufacture of 157 types of semiautomatic and magazines holding more than ten rounds of ammunition.

The bill would exempt firearms used for hunting and would grandfather in some guns and magazines. The senator said the bill aims “to dry up the supply of these weapons over time.”

Our weak gun laws allow these mass killings to be carried out again, and again, and again in our country,” Feinstein said. “Weapons, designed originally for the military to kill large numbers of people in close combat, are replicated for civilian use.”

Law-enforcement agencies around the country are strong supporters of an assault-weapon ban, and the senator, who unveiled the bill Thursday afternoon, was surrounded by many law-enforcement officials, as well as by victims of gun violence and members of the Senate and House.

“This is really an uphill road,” Feinstein said about the effort to get the legislation passed.

The New York Times notes that many lawmakers, including some Democrats, prefer more modest measures to curb gun violence, like enhanced background checks of gun buyers or better enforcement of existing laws.

Andrew Arulanandam, a spokesman for Wayne LaPierre, the chief executive of the National Rifle Association, said: “Senator Feinstein has been trying to ban guns from law-abiding citizens for decades…. It’s disappointing but not surprising that she is once again focused on curtailing the Constitution instead of prosecuting criminals or fixing our broken mental health system.”

Other legislators are working on gun legislation as well. Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-New York)  and Senator Mark Kirk (R-Illinois), are working together on gun trafficking legislation which would seek to crack down on illegal guns.

Kirk is also working on a background check proposal with Senator Joe Manchin III (D-West Virginia). Manchin willingness to work on gun control legislation is important because it may represent the willingness of Democrats with strong pro-gun records to consider stricter gun control measures.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) is working on a bill which would strengthen law enforcement’s ability to investigate so-called straw purchasing of guns – that is, people buy guns for others who are prohibited from buying one on their own.

Feinstein’s bill would not be set to expire automatically after ten years, as her 1994 bill was, and it focuses on banning specific characteristics of guns which make them more lethal. The bill would exempt more than 900 models of guns for hunting and sporting.