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US assault weapons ban heading for defeat in Senate
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| Contributor | kal |
| Last Edited | kal Mar 18, 2013 02:20pm |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Newspaper - Daily Telegraph |
| News Date | Monday, March 18, 2013 08:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | On a party line vote of 10-8, the Democratic-led panel approved a bill to renew a ban similar to one that expired in 2004. The measure would also limit high-capacity ammunition clips to 10 bullets.
Military-style assault weapons have been the weapon of choice in a number of recent US mass shootings, including one at a elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, that killed 20 children and six adults on Dec. 14.
Polls show a majority of Americans back the ban.
But most Senate Republicans and a number of Democrats from rural states oppose it, arguing it would violate the constitutional right to bear arms. Many fear that backing the legislation could cost them re-election.
Mr Obama's call to renew the ban is a centrepiece of his effort to curb US gun violence in the wake of Newtown.
The President thanked the committee for approving the bill, saying in a statement that the weapons "are designed for the battlefield and have no place on our streets, in our schools or threatening our law enforcement officers."
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