Possible US Gun Reform Legislation Won’t Feature Assault Weapons Ban, Senator Says

Last week, US President Joe Biden called on Congress to move forward measures such as red-flag laws and a ban on so-called "assault weapons", in a speech that came after a new series of mass shootings in America which left a total of 38 people dead.

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy has announced that any potential deal on gun reform-related US legislation would not include an assault weapons ban. Renewed talk about such laws has come in the aftermath of a recent string of deadly mass shootings across the country.

Speaking to CNN on Sunday, he said that the bipartisan group of senators leading the gun reform talks, of which he is a member, met again on Saturday night and focused on mental health funding, school safety measures and “modest but impactful” gun control proposals.

He added that the negotiators were “not going to do everything” he thought they could discuss during the talks.

“We’re not going to put a piece of legislation on the table that’s going to ban assault weapons, or we’re not going to pass comprehensive background checks. But right now, people in this country want us to make progress. They just don’t want the status quo to continue for another 30 years,” Murphy underscored.

He also emphasised that he had “never been part of negotiations as serious as these”, saying that “there are more Republicans at the table talking about changing our gun laws and investing in mental health than at any time since Sandy Hook”.

The senator was referring to a shooting spree at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on 14 December 2012, which claimed the lives of 26 people. The incident became the deadliest mass shooting to strike an elementary school in US history.

Murphy also said that he had been “part of many failed negotiations in the past”, which is why he was “sober minded about our [bipartisan group of the senators] chances” in the current talks on gun control.

Biden Rolls Out Gun Control Plan

The remarks followed President Joe Biden laying out his gun control agenda during a late Thursday address to the nation.

First and foremost, the POTUS called on congressional lawmakers to reinstate the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, which expired under the George W. Bush administration in 2004, and ban high-capacity magazines.

“We should limit how many rounds a weapon can hold. Why in God's name should an ordinary citizen be able to purchase an assault weapon that holds 30-round magazines, that let mass shooters fire hundreds of bullets in a matter of minutes?” Biden said.

He also urged lawmakers to raise the legal age to purchase a firearm to 21 in the event that the ban cannot be agreed to. Additionally, the president called for the strengthening of background checks, the introduction of safe storage and red flag laws, a repeal of gun manufacturers' immunity from liability, and for the US mental health crisis to be addressed.

Biden’s speech triggered a negative reaction from Republican lawmakers and conservative commentators. Congressman Darrell Issa tweeted to denounce the manner in which Biden “lashed out at everyone who doesn't share his gun control agenda” in what he described as the Democratic president’s “worst speech yet".

Georgia Republican US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene took to Twitter to slam the Democrats, who are “protected by armed guards daily". She emphasised that while Joe Biden sought to ban "assault weapons" and "high capacity magazines", Democrats “refused to prosecute violent crimes in Democrat cities all over the country”.

A total of 38 people have been killed in a series of mass shooting in the US over the past several weeks. The 14 May Buffalo shooting spree and the 24 May Uvalde mass shooting claimed the lives of 10 people and 21 people, respectively. They were followed by a shooting rampage in Tulsa, Oklahoma on 1 June, which claimed the lives of four. The latest such tragedy occurred in Philadelphia, where at least three people were killed on Saturday night.