WASHINGTON — The starter pistol in the battle in Congress over gun control officially sounded yesterday with the introduction of legislation that would reinstate an assault-weapons ban.
But the move came on the same day that Vice President Joe Biden, the White House’s point person to address gun violence, seemed to concede that the ban cannot pass Congress and that limiting rounds in gun magazines is more of a concern.
“It’s not an answer to all the problems,” Biden said, via Google chat, of the gun ban, adding that he supports it as “a rational limitation on what type of weapons should be owned.”
The legislation offered by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (above, D- Calif.) would affect 158 rapid-fire rifles and pistols in addition to prohibiting gun-magazine clips that hold more than 10 rounds.
“Getting this bill signed into law will be an uphill battle, and I recognize that, but it’s a battle worth having,” Feinstein said. “If 20 dead children in Newtown wasn’t a wake-up call that these weapons of war don’t belong on our streets, I don’t know what is.”
Feinstein authored a 10-year weapons ban that expired in 2004. The new measure bans the sale, transfer, manufacture and importation of the guns. The bill would allow currently owned guns to be exempt from a ban, though any subsequent sale would require a background check.
Feinstein is also trying to plug a hole in the original legislation that allowed weapon holders to alter their guns to meet the law.
The National Rifle Association yesterday blasted Feinstein over her measure and boasted that it would go down in defeat.
“Senator Feinstein has been trying to ban guns from law-abiding citizens for decades,” the group said in a statement.