WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks (Both D-Md.) joined the Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and more in the bicameral reintroduction of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2025, legislation to revive a nationwide ban on assault weapons two decades after the original ban expired. The bill would ban the sale, transfer, manufacture, and import of military-style assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and other high-capacity ammunition feeding devices.
“The epidemic of gun violence is tearing apart communities across our nation – and there is no reason to have assault weapons on our streets adding to the tragic toll. When the Assault Weapons Ban was in effect, it helped save lives and prevent mass shootings. That’s why we must reinstate the ban on assault weapons – and why I’ll keep fighting until we do. Americans want to reduce gun violence, and this commonsense legislation is one tool to help keep weapons of war off our streets,” said Senator Van Hollen.
“I have witnessed time and time again the devastating impact of gun violence and the destruction it unleashes on our communities. Passing the Assault Weapons Ban of 2025 is a necessary, commonsense step in ensuring the safety of our children and communities from school shootings, mass shootings, and all forms of gun violence. Whether it’s at church, the grocery store, or a political rally: we deserve a future where we can live in communities free from gun violence,” said Senator Alsobrooks.
Maryland has strong gun laws and leads the country, ranked as #8 for gun law strength according to Everytown for Gun Safety. However, passing the Assault Weapons Ban of 2025 would make Maryland even safer from gun violence. In Baltimore, the majority of the guns recovered by law enforcement enter the state from across state lines.
While the 1994 ban was in place, the United States saw gun massacres decline by 37 percent and mass shooting fatalities were 70 percent less likely. When the ban expired, deaths in a gun massacre rose 239 percent. A ban on assault-style weapons is not only commonsense legislation, it’s widely supported by Americans, and Congress has failed to keep up with the American people on this issue.
In addition to Van Hollen, Alsobrooks, Durbin, Duckworth, Schiff, Murphy, Blumenthal, and Padilla, the bill is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
The bill has been endorsed by Brady: United Against Gun Violence, GIFFORDS, Newtown Action Alliance, Everytown for Gun Safety, March for Our Lives, Sandy Hook Promise, and the National Parent Teacher Association.
Full text of the bill is available here.
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