President Obama cheered the advance of legislation reinstating a federal ban on assault weapons on Thursday, calling on both the House and Senate to schedule a full vote.
“The Senate has now advanced legislation addressing three of the most important elements of my proposal to help reduce the epidemic of gun violence in this country,” Obama said in a statement. “Now the full Senate and the House need to vote on this bill, as well as the measures advanced in the past week that would impose serious penalties on anyone who buys a gun as part of a scheme to arm criminals, improve school safety, and help keep guns out of the hands of criminals, people with a severe mental illness, and others who shouldn’t have them. Each of these proposals deserves a vote.”
Legislation banning assault weapons, introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier Thursday. It now heads to the full Senate, where it is widely expected to fail.
