The battle over gun control has intensified yet again with a bill on the floor of the Senate. The bill, which would, amongst other provisions, restrict magazine capacity, has attracted the most likely adversary- the NRA.
The gun rights champion is sounding the alarm over what it calls an attempt to impede the constitutional freedom of Americans. The group is calling for other Senate members to consider the bill’s demerits and block its passage.
The bill, which was sponsored by Sens. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Angus King of Maine, is called GOSAFE. In full, it is the Gas-Operated Semi-Automatic Firearm Exclusion Act. Colorado’s Michael Bennet and Arizona’s Mark Kelly co-sponsored it.
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The bill, if passed, will place heavier restrictions on gas-operated semi-automatic weapons. This category of weapons uses the power of gas to eject empty bullet cases and load fresh cartridges for the next shot. These guns reduce the recoil effect on the shooter and are, hence, more accurate and lethal.
The piece of legislation is coming on the heels of a tragic gun attack in Maine. In October, a gunman opened fire and killed eighteen people at a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston, Maine’s second most populous city.
According to Senator King, the GOSAFE Act “addresses the lethal capacity weapons like the one used in Lewiston and most of the deadliest mass-shootings across the country.”
The Independent senator also described the bill as one of the “responsible actions” needed to “reduce the likelihood of such a nightmare happening again in Maine or anywhere else.”
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The bill also proposes a prohibited firearms list and bans self-manufactured ghost guns. The bill will also forbid illegal modifications and will force manufacturers to submit future designs for approval.
The most prominent feature of the bill, however, is its attempt to ban weapons with a magazine capacity that exceeded ten rounds.
The GOSAFE, unlike most of the previous gun-control legislative measures, focuses on the operation rather than the appearance of guns. But the NRA sees more harm than good in the bill.
“This legislation blatantly violates the U.S. Constitution and U.S Supreme Court rulings by banning the very types of firearms and magazines most often utilized by Americans for defending themselves and their families,” a senior NRA member said.
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Speaking to Fox News, NRA member Randy Kozuch, who is the Executive Director of its Institute for Legislative Action, claims that the bill punishes law-abiding gun owners.
“The bill unjustly and improperly places the full burden of the law on law-abiding residents while doing nothing to take guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals,” he stated.
Another fierce opponent of the bill is the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), a nonprofit advocacy group for gun rights. The organization made their stand known in a statement posted on X, describing the bill as “one of the most aggressive rights violations yet.”
The FPC and the NRA will once again count on the muscle of republican lawmakers to ensure that the bill doesn’t survive beyond the Capitol.
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