KEY VOTE: "NO" on the Assault Weapons Ban (H.R. 1808)

This week, the House will be voting on H.R. 1808, the Assault Weapons Ban. This proposal would prohibit the future sale of new so-called “assault weapons” and “high-capacity magazines” to civilians, with exceptions for law enforcement, including those who are retired and off-duty. This is another clear attempt by the left to severely limit Americans’ second amendment rights by banning a wide array of firearms owned by 25 million Americans. This politically motivated bill, borne out of fearmongering and misinformation, would infringe on Americans’ right to defend themselves without making the country any safer.

The proposal would mandate de facto universal background checks for all transfers of grandfathered “assault weapons,” including any gift, sale, or loan to any person for any reason. The only scenarios in which a gun recipient would not need a background check are explicit and limited: temporary transfer of possession while all parties are physically present at a shooting range and the gun remains on the premises, and temporary custody “for purposes of examination or evaluation by a prospective transferee.” The bill would also ban future civilian sales of magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds. While existing standard capacity magazines would be grandfathered, there would be no legal methods for transferring their possession to any person for any reason.

These firearms are owned by 25 million Americans, who routinely use them for lawful purposes, and they are the type of firearm least likely to be used for criminal purposes. In fact, the 1994 assault weapons ban was allowed to expire precisely because criminals don’t need gun features outlawed by the bill like pistol grips or barrel shrouds to commit crimes, and the law had no effect on crime rates. Meanwhile, these features are incredibly useful for law-abiding citizens using firearms for lawful purposes, including in self-defense against criminals. That is precisely why the bill exempts law-enforcement officers, who prefer them when confronting the very same criminals in a civilian context. Essentially, this proposal has nothing at all to do with public safety and everything to do with control.

It is also worth mentioning that, despite the proposal’s grandfather clause, this bill will turn millions of routine actions by otherwise law-abiding gun owners into felonies. Any transfer of a firearm, no matter how temporary or common or low-risk, that occurs outside of a gun range without a background check is a felony. Any temporary change in possession of a gun with a standard capacity magazine is a felony, period. The bill utilizes broad definitions of pistol grip that are far more expansive than even those states that currently ban “assault weapons.” In essence, overnight, the vast majority of semi-automatic firearms currently manufactured and sold on the civilian market would be deemed illegal for manufacturers to continue selling—including those that are currently otherwise compliant with state “assault weapon” laws.

Democrats’ disdain for the Constitution and the American way of life has been laid bare in recent years, and this is merely their latest affront. All members should hold firm in their opposition to this assault on Americans’ constitutional rights and vote “no” on this woefully misguided proposal.