UPDATE Congressman Jim Himes released the following statement:
Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) cosponsored today a bill to ban assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition feeding devices for civilians. The ban was one of several proposals outlined by the President in response to the Newtown shooting.
"It does not take a military-style gun to kill a deer, have fun at the shooting range, or protect your family," said Himes. "This bill strikes an ideal balance between keeping our communities safe and preserving the freedoms of American gun owners. I look forward to working with my colleagues to send this bill to the President's desk."
The Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 bans the sale, transfer, importation and manufacturing of over 100 specifically-named firearms as well as large ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. The bill protects responsible hunters and gun owners by exempting over 900 specifically-named weapons often used for hunting and sporting purposes. It also grandfathers weapons already legally owned on the date of the bill's enactment.
STATEMENT FROM SENATOR CHRIS MURPHY:
JOINT STATEMENT FROM SENATOR RICHARD BLUMENTHAL AND MURPHY
Today, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) joined U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Representatives Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) to introduce the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013, new legislation that would ban certain military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.
"This measure would have helped to prevent the Newtown tragedy. But for the assault weapons and high-capacity magazines like the ones banned by this measure, hundreds of thousands of Americans including the 20 children and six educators killed in Newtown might well be alive today," said Blumenthal. "Military-style assault weapons - weapons not designed for self-defense or hunting, but rather for killing as many people as quickly as possible - have no place in our communities. My hope is that we will seize this moment with a sense of urgency and passion. Newtown is a call to action, a call for real reform - and we must always remember this terrible tragedy and keep faith with its victims."
"Words can't begin to convey the devastation felt by the families of the victims in Newtown and by thousands of other families throughout the country affected by gun violence like those here today," said Murphy. "Since the first of the year, over 6,000 people have been shot in the United States, and since the tragedy in Newtown, gun violence has killed nearly 1,200 people. If those horrific stats aren't enough to move this Congress to act, I don't know what will. If assault weapons and high capacity magazines were not so readily available, including the weapon Adam Lanza used to take 26 lives last month, there would be more little boys and girls alive in Newtown today. There are no longer any excuses for inaction-it's time for Congress to get to work."
Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty:
PRESS RELEASE:
Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty joined Members of Congress and a coalition of Mayors, law enforcement officers, gun safety organizations and other groups, and victims of gun violence to introduce legislation on military-style assault weapons and high capacity ammunition feeding devices -- the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013. The Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 would reauthorize and strengthen the 1994 assault weapons ban which expired in 2004. The Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 is being introduced by Senator Diane Feinstein in the U.S. Senate. Esty is an original co-sponsor of companion legislation being introduced by Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy in the U.S. House.
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