Rep. Andrew Clyde opposes a ban on semi-automatic guns. | Clyde4Congress/Facebook
Rep. Andrew Clyde opposes a ban on semi-automatic guns. | Clyde4Congress/Facebook
The U.S. House of Representatives advanced legislation last week to reintroduce a ban on semi-automatic guns.
The vote was a direct response to the use of high-powered firearms during the barrage of mass shootings sweeping the nation, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
Officials from President Joe Biden's administration said mass shootings tripled after a ban on assault weapons, instituted in 1994, expired 10 years later.
Republican members of the House maintained their stance that limitations on ownership of high-powered firearms should not be advanced.
"An armed America is a safe and free America,” Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) said.
This news comes as semi-automatic weapons are a widely-debated topic. Firearms "are now widely blamed as the weapon of choice among young men responsible for many of the most devastating mass shootings," FOX 5 Atlanta reported.
Republicans called the legislation an election-year strategy by Democrats. The majority of GOP representatives voted against the bill, but it advanced after a 217-213 vote. It will likely stall in the Senate, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
The bill would make it unlawful to import, sell, or manufacture certain semi-automatic weapons. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), House Judiciary Committee chairman, said the bill will exempt weapons that are already owned, FOX 5 Atlanta reported.
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