Divided democrats withdraw from the ban on assault weapons

WASHINGTON – While Democrats are vigorously pushing for new gun control legislation, they made the calculated decision not to pursue their most ambitious goal: the ban on guns. 39; assault.

The overwhelming majority of Democrats in the House – 211 out of seven, out of the 218 needed to vote – co-sponsor a bill banning semi-automatic military-style weapons, similar to the 1994 to 2004 ban But some centrist Democrats remain reluctant proposal that prevents guns from being respected by law – a frequent accusation against Democrats by Republicans and gun groups – making this ban politically risky for them. moderate districts favorable to Trump. In the Senate, he receives less support.

The split reveals how complex firearms policy remains within the Democratic Party, even as large-scale shootings terrorize the country and the Twitter hashtag #DoSomething has captured the growing demands of the public asking Congress to act.

During the presidential campaign, Democrats such as former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. rallied to the ban on assault weapons, and Beto O. Rourke, l & 39; former Texas congressman, went so far as to ask for a mandatory government program to buy back the weapons of war. But at Capitol Hill, President Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, barely spoke of the need to reinstate the ban.

Even Senator Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, who sponsored the 1994 ban on assault weapons and is one of the strongest advocates, did not raise the issue when She talked about gun safety with Mr. Schumer on Tuesday afternoon. "We do not have the votes to adopt it," she explained later.

"Let's be honest," said David Cicilline, Rhode Island's representative, who sponsored the current assault weapons measure, which has described himself as a "big supporter" of the ban. "All the other bills we have prepared are trying to keep guns from the hands of people who should not have them. This is the only bill that protects a particular weapon from the hands of law-abiding citizens. Many people have huge objections to this. "

Instead of waiting for President Trump to make an announcement – perhaps as early as Thursday – on the type of gun legislation that he would support, the Democrats are resolutely using to strike the senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the leader of the majority, to take a bill passed by the House that expands background checks to cover sales at exhibitions and online.

On Wednesday, three senators who negotiated with the White House – Joe Manchin III, West Virginia Democrat, Connecticut Democrat Christopher S. Murphy and Pennsylvania Republican Patrick J. Toomey – said they had a large 45-minute interview with the Chair on Firearms Measures.

Manchin and Toomey are the sponsors of a bipartisan background checks bill that is not as onerous as the one passed in the House, and they want Mr. Trump to join. Mr. McConnell refused to pass a gun law unless the President agreed to sign it, and Mr. Trump did not make his intentions known.

"We are looking at the background, and we are trying to put everything together in a unified way so that we can have something meaningful," Trump told reporters after his phone conversation with Senators. "We'll see what happens."

The push for a background check instead of an assault weapons ban is a sensible political decision for Democrats, who see it as a winning issue. A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll found that 89% of Americans were in favor of universal background checks. Although a majority also supported a ban on assault weapons, support was much thinner – just 56%.

The 1994 law, passed as part of a broader crime bill, defended by then-senator Biden, prohibited the sale of 19 specific firearms with the characteristics of the firearms used by the police. 39, including semi-automatic rifles and certain types of shotguns and handguns.

It also banned magazines that can hold more than 10 cartridges, while allowing people who already have such weapons to keep them. But there was an extinction clause, and Congress refused to renew it when it expired in 2004, in part because the Democrats were worried that it might cost them re-election.

Politics have changed since, especially after a summer of murderous shootings.

Some Democrats in surprising corners of the country have also adopted a ban, even if the political reality is that Mr. Trump would never sign such a measure.

Democratic representatives Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey and Jason Crow of Colorado spoke last month in favor of a ban. opinion article in USA Today. Both are veterans of the military and Mr. Crow has used an aggressive platform to combat gun violence.