It’s inevitable. In every Congress, a Democrat introduces an assault weapons ban, hoping to turn the most popular rifle in America—the AR 15 (tiny for Armalite Rifle Model 15)—into a firearm you can no longer own. Typically, such bills are very closely divided along party lines, with Democrats supporting them and Republicans wanting nothing to do with the legislation.
Now that has changed.
Rep. Pete King (R-NY) signed the Assault Weapons Ban Act of 2019, which was first introduced in February by Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI). He is the first Republican to sign the bill, New York Daily News reported.
“They are weapons of mass destruction,” King said. “I don’t see a need for them in everyday society.”
The shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, prompted King to support a ban on assault weapons, although he has advocated for gun control in the past.
“The tragic shootings in El Paso and Dayton once again demonstrate the need to address gun violence. Sensible gun regulations are essential, as is psychological research into who resorts to gun violence, why, and what the early indicators might be,” King said in a statement after the shootings. “Our prayers must be with those killed and injured and their families.”
“I think a ban on assault weapons is timely right now, especially in light of the shootings in El Paso and Dayton,” he said.
But it’s not surprising that King made the decision he did.
“It’s unfortunate that Rep. King’s assessment of modern sporting rifles comes straight from the gun control groups’ talking points,” National Shooting Sports Foundation public affairs director Mark Oliva told Townhall. “His comment that no one ‘needs’ a modern sporting rifle tells us where he’s getting his gun policy information. Our Second Amendment is in the Bill of Rights, not the Bill of Needs.”
King has been a gun control advocate in the past, previously supporting bills like the Toomey-Manchin Act, which expands background checks for firearm purchases.
While most Democrats who support gun control want to ban assault weapons, the party has focused primarily on making universal background checks a reality. Why? They believe there is more support for universal background checks than for an assault weapons ban.
Democrats are eager to repeat the same arguments about background checks and assault weapons bans, but they don’t leave out a few key issues.
The term “assault weapon” is arbitrary and usually refers to AR-15 rifles because Democrats think AR stands for assault rifle (but it doesn’t). AR rifles are large, black, and scary, so have to be banned. The stupidest thing is that their requirements for what constitutes an “assault weapon” are based on cosmetic features, like a folding stock or a detachable magazine, rather than the functionality of the firearm. It’s as if they think a folding stock will suddenly turn a semi-automatic weapon (where one round is fired with one pull of the trigger) into an automatic weapon (where rounds are fired continuously as long as the trigger is pulled and there is ammo in the magazine).
Democrats want to expand background checks, but the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) is not robust. Right now, only 38 states report 80 percent of their convictions to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), which is responsible for NICS. If not all convictions are reported, background checks are a matter of chance. That’s why Fix NICS was such a large deal when it was passed. Slowly but surely, NICS is updated. Furthermore, in recent mass shootings, the perpetrators did not have criminal records or backgrounds that would have prevented them from obtaining firearms.
