Republicans blocked Democrat efforts in the Senate to ban certain types of semi-automatic rifles and to require universal criminal background checks for firearms sales on Dec. 6.
Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) objected to a call for unanimous consent on a so-called “assault weapons ban” by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the Senate Majority leader.
Mr. Schumer said that violent crime involving firearms has become an “epidemic.”
“The American people are sick and tired of enduring one mass shooting after another,” he said.
He claimed that the “Federal Assault Weapons Ban” between 1994 and 2004 reduced the number of mass killings and gun crimes.
“We have a decade’s worth of proof that a ban on military-style assaults [weapons] works and saves lives, plain and simple,” Mr. Schumer said.
Several studies, including a review of five studies by the Rand Corporation in 2020, found the Federal Assault Weapons Ban had little to no impact on crime.
Mr. Barrasso said the proposed legislation would ban firearms that are in common use based on a gun’s cosmetic features. He said the key to keeping Americans truly safe would be to address mental health care funding and to allow police to enforce the law.
“[Republicans] want Americans to be safer in their communities, their homes, and their schools,” Mr. Barrasso said. “Americans have a Constitutional right to own a firearm. The Second Amendment is freedom’s essential safeguard.”
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said that, in his opinion, no one needs a “military weapon designed to kill people.”
The legislation, S 25, titled the “Assault Weapons Ban of 2023,” was first sponsored by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).
The law would ban semiautomatic rifles with pistol grips, forward grips, and folding or telescoping stocks. The list also includes rifles with grenade launchers, barrel shrouds, and threaded barrels that can accept noise and flash suppressors.
The bill specifically bans more than 200 rifles by make and model. The bill also lists guns that would be exempt from the ban.
On the exempted list are versions of the M1 Garand, which was the primary battle rifle for American forces in World War II, and the bolt action Remington Model 700, a rifle that has seen service as a military and police sniper rifle.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) asked for unanimous consent on his bill, 2 494, the “Background Checks Expansion Act.”
He said that polls show a majority of Americans support expanded background checks and that Congress should respond to that demand.
“This just feels like a test of democracy,” he said.
According to Democrats, the law is needed to stop illegal gun sales.
“We must pass the Background Check Expansion Act led by Sen. Murphy, which would close the dangerous gun show loophole which allows unlicensed gun dealers such as those at gun shows to sell a gun without a background check,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).
She and Mr. Murphy said that polls show a majority of Americans support background checks on all firearms sales.
Under current law, anyone engaged in the business of selling guns must be licensed and must perform a background check for every gun sale, even at gun shows. Transactions between private citizens who can legally own firearms do not require a background check. S 494 would change that.
In his opposition, Mr. Lee pointed out that the Senate is “not asked to vote on polling questions. We’re asked to vote on legislation.”
He said that a question on a survey doesn’t adequately outline a law’s impact. According to Mr. Lee, the plan would give the government more power while diminishing the rights of law-abiding citizens.
Mr. Lee said S 494 would make loaning or gifting a gun to a family member or friend a crime without a background check.
“This is about the father who wishes to pass down a hunting rifle to his son, or the friend who wants to loan a shotgun to his neighbor who has a need for protection,” he said.
“At the end of the day, we should choose common sense over fear. We should choose liberty over control, and we should choose the rights of the law-abiding many over the rights of the criminally minded few.”
Second Amendment advocates say that the fight is not over. They vowed to remain vigilant and to oppose any law they see as infringing on the Second Amendment.
“We’re thankful Republican Senators stepped up to block these radical gun control bills. We'll remain vigilant for when Democrats try this nonsense again,” Dudley Brown, president of the National Association for Gun Rights, wrote in an email to The Epoch Times.
Alan Gottlieb, founder and executive vice president of The Second Amendment Foundation, agreed.
“Chuck Schumer has been trying to ban guns since he arrived on Capitol Hill decades ago,” Mr. Gottlieb noted.
“For him and Joe Biden, achieving a total ban on an entire class of firearms would be a symbolic victory, but completely lacking in substance because violent crime will continue.”
