Senate, 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.

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.