Two Democratic members of the House of Representatives have introduced a bill that would ban not just the sale of assault weapons, but the “import, manufacture, transfer or possession” of them. The bill, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2018, was introduced by Reps. David Cicilline (D-RI) and Ted Deutch (D-FL) Monday.
The ban however, would not apply to weapons that were legally purchased or owned at the time the law went into effect.
The lawmakers introduced the bill in the wake of the deadly Parkland, FL, school shooting that left seventeen killed, mostly students.
Outcry from parents, students and local lawmakers has caused Congress to try to implement legislative fixes that would help cut down on the rash of mass, and especially school shootings that have plagued the country.
President Trump has indicated a desire to see bills that would ban certain firearm accessories, shore up the nation’s background check system and increase the eligibility age for assault weapons from 18 to 21 pass. Resistance from powerful gun-rights groups like the NRA however leave the futures of such bills uncertain.
The 2018 ban would also require the attorney general to keep a record of semiautomatic assault weapons that have been used to commit crimes, and to make that record public.
A previous assault weapons ban in the U.S. expired in 2004. Attempts to renew such a ban have repeatedly failed in Congress.