Congressman Don Beyer (D-Va.) co-sponsored a bill this week that would prohibit the sale, transfer, production, and importation of assault weapons.
The Assault Weapons Ban of 2018, H.R. 5087, was introduced by Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI) on Monday (February 26). The bill comes as pressure mounts nationwide following the Parkland, Fla., school shooting which sparked renewed efforts to pass gun control legislation.
“We need the Assault Weapons Ban because we have to get weapons of war out of America’s communities,” Beyer said in a press release. “It is too late to stop the shootings in Parkland, Newtown, Aurora, and so many others which were carried out with an AR-15 style rifle, but we must act to prevent future such massacres.
“Congress should listen to the young people in Florida and across the country and pass this lifesaving measure immediately,” he added.
The ban would specifically prohibit the sale, transfer, production, and importation of the following:
- Semi-automatic rifles and handguns with a military-style feature that can accept a detachable magazine
- Semi-automatic rifles and handguns with a fixed magazine that can hold more than 10 rounds
- Semi-automatic shotguns with a military-style features
- Any ammunition feeding device that can hold more than 10 rounds
- 205 specifically-named and listed firearms
More from the press release:
When an assault weapon or a high-capacity magazine is used in a shooting, the number of victims who are killed increases by 63 percent. There have been almost 8,300 incidents of gun violence so far in 2018. More than 2,200 Americans have lost their lives. More than 500 children have been killed or injured.
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