House quietly moves to ban 'assault weapons' while US reels under coronavirus onslaught
At a time when the US is fighting a battle for survival against the COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed nearly 15,000 lives in the country, another battle was brewing in the political arena. Last month, Military Arms Channel said in a Facebook post that a bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives and if passed, would go on to ban assault weapons. The move was enough to spark a massive controversy as pro-gun voices were heard promoting gun rights even more in these trying times.
The pro-gun lobbies were already claiming that the legislation would see the federal government repeal the much-debated Second Amendment and seize illegally possessed weapons without any prior notice or right to due process. According to a report in USA Today, it was more of an exaggerated claim.
The Military Arms Channel’s post said: “While the nation is in full panic mode, the House introduced the “Gun Violence Prevention and Community Safety Act of 2020” on 3/10. It is another full “assault weapons ban” coupled with a federal licensing scheme that would force all Americans to obtain a federal license to buy firearms or ammo.” It then asked those in favor of the gun rights to call up their respective representatives to protest against the bill (H.R.5717).
The post, which was shared 12,000 times and received as many as 900 comments approximately, attracted the attention of pro-gun groups like the National Rifle Association, Firearms Policy Coalition and the Gun Owners of America.
The bill was introduced by the Democratic representative from Georgia and a member of the House Judiciary Committee, Hank Johnson, on January 30. The bill eyes, among others, banning buying and possessing assault weapons. Massachusetts Senator and former presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren introduced the Senate version of the bill (S.3254) in February.
Speaking on the bill he initiated, Johnson said in a news release: “The Gun Violence Prevention and Community Safety Act will save lives and make our country safer – without infringing on any law-abiding individual’s right to own firearms. This comprehensive bill is a compilation of the best ideas to create a workable set of laws that will strengthen life-saving background checks, protect communities with bolstered enforcement, improve mental health services and fuel research to make guns safer.”
The bill has 18 co-sponsors, all of whom are Democrats.
The Firearms Policy Coalition slammed the House bill to say: “If you're a gun owner, you literally need to drop everything you're doing right now and oppose this bill. HR 5717 is the worst anti-gun legislation that FPC has ever seen. It could end gun rights in totality within a generation. In 2016, we fought hard against a huge surge of anti-gun legislation in California. We dubbed it “Gunpocalypse”.”
What's the scope of the legislation
The legislation introduced a variety of reforms to “end the epidemic of gun violence and build safer communities by strengthening Federal firearms laws and supporting gun violence research, intervention, and prevention initiatives.” It also addresses issues like background checks, taxes on firearms and goods related to them, gun storage, etc. The state law enforcement authorities need to be notified when a background check is denied and mandatorily seek from the attorney general an annual report to the Congress detailing the instances of background check denials.
The bill would also make it necessary for all firearm owners to get a federal firearms owner’s license, although those bought before the enactment of the bill would be exempted. The Military Arms Channel said the bill would make it illegal “to import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, a semiautomatic assault weapon.”
Among the exceptions that the bill comes up with, law-enforcement officers can possess these firearms as like those who are in charge of security at nuclear energy facilities. Besides, weapons that are “manually operated by bolt, pump, lever or slide action,” have “been rendered permanently inoperable” or are antique are also exempted.
The bill has to be passed by the Republican-controlled Senate and signed by the president, who is also from the GOP, to become a law.
The latest bill is not the first of its kind though. The Congress enacted a decade-long ban on the assault weapon that was in effect between 1994 and 2004. Democrats also attempted to pass an assault weapons (the definition of which remains debatable) ban in 2013 following the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012.