Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) speaks at press conference on January 24, 2013. House and Senate Democrats where joined by law enforcement officials to introduce the 'Assault Weapons Ban of 2013' legislation to ban assault style weapons and high capacity magazines.
USA TODAY
(USA TODAY) -- A Senate panel on Thursday passed a ban on assault weapons, but the
measure will face stiff resistance from Republicans and some Democrats
on the floor.
The Senate Judiciary Committee's 10 Democrats voted for the bill, while its eight Republicans were opposed.
The
controversial measure by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. would ban 157
military-style weapons and large-capacity magazines that carry more than
10 rounds of ammunition.
Feinstein and freshman Sen. Ted Cruz,
R-Texas, had a heated exchange during the committee's debate over the
Second Amendment. "Senator, I am not a sixth grader," she shot back at
Cruz, denouncing what she called a "lecture."
Feinstein gained
national prominence in 1978 when her San Francisco colleagues, Mayor
George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, were assassinated. She became
mayor and has been fighting for gun-control measures ever since.
The
Judiciary Committee previously approved several gun-control measures,
all of which were drafted in the wake of the mass shooting on Dec. 14 in
Newtown, Conn. Twenty children and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook
Elementary School, and the incident has been held up by President Obama
and others as a reason for new gun legislation.
Feinstein told
reporters Wednesday that opposition from the National Rifle Association
stands in the way of the assault weapons ban. She is encouraging a
renewed push by Obama to get her bill passed.
Republicans such as
Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, are concerned the gun ban proposal would
take away the rights of gun owners and could be overturned on
constitutional grounds. Democrats such as Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas
are also opposed to a new assault weapons ban.
The original assault weapons ban passed in 1994 and expired in 2004.