Congressman Blumenauer Co-Sponsors Assault Weapons Ban

Portland, OR – Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, on Friday, became an original co-sponsor of H.R. 1296, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2019, alongside Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI). The legislation, which follows the one-year anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, FL, would ban the sale, manufacture, or possession of new military-style assault weapons. A 2017 Pew Research Center poll found that 68 percent of adults favor banning assault weapons, and 65 percent support a ban on high-capacity magazines.

"When active shooter drills become as common as fire drills and earthquake drills in our children's schools, we can no longer deny that our country has a gun violence crisis," said Blumenauer. "There is no single solution to reducing gun violence, just as there is no single solution to housing or transportation. But there are common sense actions we can take now like banning assault weapons and implementing universal background checks that will save lives."

The Assault Weapons Ban of 2019 will prohibit the sale, transfer, production, and importation of semi-automatic rifles and pistols with a military-style feature that can accept a detachable magazine; semi-automatic rifles with a fixed magazine that can hold more than 10 rounds; semi-automatic shotguns with a military-style feature; any ammunition feeding device that can hold more than 10 rounds; and 205 specifically-named and listed firearms.

As the frequency of mass shootings has increased in recent years, assault weapons have become the weapon of choice, as witnessed in the attacks on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas, Sandy Hook Elementary School, and a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado.

The Assault Weapons Ban of 2019 is co-sponsored by 190 members of the U.S. House. It is endorsed by the American Federation of Teachers, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Center for American Progress, Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, March for Our Lives, Newtown Action Alliance, NoRA, and Everytown for Gun Safety.

Earlier this year, Blumenauer also cosponsored H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019, which House Democrats have signaled as a high priority and have advanced through the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. This bill expands background checks to cover all gun sales and closes the "private sales" loophole.

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