WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and 24 of their colleagues today in introducing the Assault Weapons Ban of 2019, updated legislation to ban the sale, transfer, manufacture and importation of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.
“As mass shootings become more frequent and more deadly, Congress cannot simply hold another moment of silence without action – and we cannot continue to stand by while our siblings, parents and children get mowed down in their churches, at their schools and when they are just going about their daily lives,” Duckworth said. “I don’t want my daughters to have to grow up in a country that won’t protect them from firearm violence – and I refuse to accept that there’s nothing we can do. People are dying and Congress has not only the power, but also the duty to act by passing common-sense solutions like this one. We owe it to the countless and growing number of firearm violence victims to take action, not just deliver thoughts and prayers.”
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“Military-style assault weapons belong in the hands of military and law enforcement experts, not on the open market where dangerous individuals can purchase them and use them to commit mass shootings,” Durbin said. “I’m going to keep doing everything I can to put the safety of our kids and our neighborhoods ahead of the gun lobby’s agenda. It’s time to take a stand and show leadership. America is waiting.”
In addition to Durbin and Duckworth, cosponsors of the bill include Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Patty Murray (D-WA). Jack Reed (D-RI), Tom Carper (D-DE), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Bob Casey (D-PA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Mark Warner (D-VA).
Senators Duckworth and Durbin also recently helped introduce the Background Check Expansion Act to expand federal background checks to the sale or transfer of all firearms. The requirement extends to all unlicensed sellers, whether they do business online, at gun shows, or out of their home. Exceptions to the Background Check Expansion Act include transfers between law enforcement officers, temporarily loaning firearms for hunting and sporting events, providing firearms as gifts to immediate family members, transferring a firearm as part of an inheritance, or temporarily transferring a firearm for immediate self-defense.
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