Washington, D.C. – Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has joined Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and 21 Democratic senators to introduce the Assault Weapons Ban of 2017, a bill to ban the sale, transfer, manufacture, and importation of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. The legislation renews provisions of a federal ban on assault weapons that was enacted in 1994 and expired in 2004.
“Dialing down the numbers of dangerous assault weapons in the United States can only help keep the public safer,” said Whitehouse, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “We have seen far too many massacres because weapons of war are infiltrating our neighborhoods, giving murderers the ability to unleash mass mayhem in a matter of minutes. Congress must find the courage to protect the lives of innocent Americans.”
Key provisions of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2017:
- Bans the sale, manufacture, transfer and importation of 205 military-style assault weapons by name. Owners may keep existing weapons.
- Bans any assault weapon that accepts a detachable ammunition magazine and has one or more military characteristics including a pistol grip, a forward grip, a barrel shroud, a threaded barrel or a folding or telescoping stock. Owners may keep existing weapons.
- Bans magazines and other ammunition feeding devices that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition, which allow shooters to quickly fire many rounds without needing to reload. Owners may keep existing magazines.
- The bill exempts by name more than 2,200 guns for hunting, household defense, or recreational purposes.
- The bill includes a grandfather clause that exempts all weapons lawfully possessed at the date of enactment.
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