On Wednesday next week, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee will meet to discuss a proposed legislation that would ban assault weapons from being manufactured and sold to the public.
“The bill, sponsored by Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), would prohibit the sale, transfer, import, and manufacture of hundreds of models of semi-automatic weapons that boast certain specific features, including those that combine pistol grips with detachable magazines. The ban would not apply to people who already own such weapons,” The Hill reports.
This proposal was the result of a string of gun-related violence throughout the nation and all occurring within the past few months.
The incident at a New York grocery store, the Uvalde massacre, and an Illinois Independence Day parade shooting have sparked debates over gun regulations in the U.S., particularly with regards to AR-style firearms or semi-automatic rifle manufacture and sales.
“Our country has witnessed senseless killing after senseless killing, and each time one fact has remained remarkably consistent — the weapon of choice for mass slaughter is a high-powered assault weapon,” said Committee Chairman U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler.
Three gunmakers are called upon to testify on Wednesday— Smith & Wesson Brands, Sturm, Ruger & Co., and Daniel Defense.
Should the bill pass Congress, it would then be brought to an equally divided Senate, where it needs 60 votes to pass, according to Reuters.
A federal assault weapon ban was enacted in 1994 but has since expired in 2004.
Last month, President Joe Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which was geared toward crisis intervention programs and preventing guns from reaching people who are mentally incapable of handling a weapon as well as those who are recognized as a danger to society.