Assault Weapons | featured news

Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, broke his long faith with the National Rifle Association on Wednesday and said he would vote for a ban on assault weapons.

US lawmakers will dump a plan to ban assault weapons, all but killing off a key part of a gun control campaign galvanised by a recent school massacre.

By a party line vote, a Senate panel has approved a ban on assault weapons, setting the legislation up for a vote next month in the full Senate. But the bill’s prospects are not bright, as the ban – authored by California Sen. Dianne Feinstein – faces strong opposition from the National Rifle Association and other groups who say it infringes on Second Amendment rights.

A proposed ban on military-style assault weapons faces a key test vote as early as Thursday when the committee considering gun control legislation is scheduled to decide whether to refer the proposal to the full Senate.

Vice President Joe Biden said people don’t need high-capacity weapons to protect themselves and that the Obama administration’s efforts to reduce gun violence amount to gun safety, not gun control.

Lawmakers in both parties view an assault weapons ban as politically toxic, but many seem more amenable to restricting the kinds of high-capacity magazines used in recent rampages.

Democrats in the House of Representatives will unveil a proposal on Thursday to combat gun violence, including a bid to ban assault weapons, party sources said.

More than 90 percent of U.S. voters supported background checks for all gun buyers, while much smaller majorities were for stricter gun control laws such as bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, said a poll released on Thursday.

The senator leading the charge to revive a assault weapons ban conceded on Sunday, just days before hearings on gun control open, that winning Senate passage will be tough but said she has been assured she will have the chance to bring it up for a vote.

Congressional Democrats are reintroducing legislation to ban assault weapons but the measure faces long odds even after last month's mass school shooting in Newtown, Conn....