Every Republican to Vote Against an Assault Weapons Ban – Newsweek

The House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee voted to approve new legislation that would ban assault weapons, with all of the Democratic members supporting the measure.

All of the 18 Republican members of the committee who were present for the vote opposed the adoption of the legislation, while GOP Representative Greg Steube wasn't in attendance.

The Assault Weapons Ban Act of 2021 is the first piece of legislation to restrict assault weapons that the Judiciary Committee has approved in 20 years. It aims to prohibit the sale, manufacture, transfer and import of all semi-automatic rifles, if those rifles can accept a detachable magazine and they have a pistol grip.

The bill would also ban such weapons when they have a grenade launcher, a barrel shroud or a threaded barrel, a forward grip or a folding, telescoping or detachable stock, along with other measures to restrict the firearms.

The vote comes after a number of deadly mass shootings in recent weeks, including at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two teachers dead.

The alleged gunman in Uvalde used an AR-15 style rifle, which the legislation will restrict if it's passed by the House and Senate and signed into law by President Joe Biden.

An AR-15 style rifle was also used in the deadly Highland Park mass shooting that saw seven people killed during a Fourth of July parade.

The Republicans who voted against the legislation were:

Jim Jordan of Ohio

Steve Chabot of Ohio

Louie Gohmert of Texas

Darrell Issa of California

Ken Buck of Colorado

Matt Gaetz of Florida

Mike Johnson of Louisiana

Andy Biggs of Arizona

Tom McClintock of California

Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin

Thomas Massie of Kentucky

Chip Roy of Texas

Dan Bishop of North Carolina

Michelle Fischbach of Minnesota

Victoria Spartz of Indiana

Scott Fitzgerald of Wisconsin

Cliff Bentz of Oregon

Burgess Owens of Utah

Representative Jordan, the ranking member on the committee, said the legislation would "strip Americans of their right" and "would do nothing to make our communities safer."

"Democrats know this legislation will not reduce violent crime or reduce the likelihood of mass shootings, but they are obsessed with attacking law-abiding Americans' Second Amendment liberties," Jordan said.

The official Twitter account of the House Judiciary Committee GOP posted on Wednesday: "HOUSE DEMOCRATS JUST VOTED TO STRIP LAW ABIDING CITIZENS OF THEIR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS."

They later sent a tweet quoting directly from the Second Amendment: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

However, Democratic Representative Jerrold Nadler, chair of the committee, argued in favor of the legislation.

"As we have learned all too well in recent years, assault weaponsespecially when combined with high-capacity magazinesare the weapon of choice for mass shootings. These military-style weapons are designed to kill the most people in the shortest amount of time," Nadler said, during his opening statement.

"Quite simply, there is no place for them on our streets," he added.

Following the vote, the House Judiciary Democrats' Twitter account criticized Republican opposition: "Every committee Republican voted no.If the deaths of our nation's children from gun violence won't motivate Republicans to take action to save lives, what will?"

It remains to be seen how quickly the legislation will advance. Congress will enter recess in early August.

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Every Republican to Vote Against an Assault Weapons Ban - Newsweek