CSGV STATEMENT ON INTRODUCTION OF ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN LEGISLATION

Washington, DC—The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) would like to thank Senator Dianne Feinstein for introducing legislation to reinstate and strengthen the federal ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. We deeply appreciate her continued leadership on this issue.

Her new bill demonstrates that the Senator has learned valuable lessons from the previous federal ban that was in place from 1994-2004. In particular, the change from a 2- to 1-feature test shows that she has taken significant steps to eliminate the loopholes that allowed the gun industry to manufacture “copycat rifles” under the previous law, thereby violating its spirit and intent.

This new legislation will create a safer America by denying would-be killers access to military-grade firepower. The weapons this bill deals with are not our Founding Fathers’ muskets or even your grandfather’s hunting rifles. Modern-day assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines are not made for home-defense, target shooting, or hunting. They are manufactured for the battlefield, and designed to kill people en masse, quickly.

We know that assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines are weapons of choice in contemporary mass shootings. We know that law enforcement officers nationwide are increasingly finding themselves staring down the barrels of assault weapons in the hands of criminals and the dangerous mentally ill. The time has come for action. The enactment of Senator Feinstein's legislation would be a significant step toward ending the gruesome gun violence that is destroying our families and communities.

After the recent tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary, the U.S. Congress owes the American people nothing less.