A reasonable ban
Feinstein's weapons bill has a clear, limited reach
The bill introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein is balanced and reasonable, respecting the constitutional basis of the right to bear arms and banning the sales of weapons designed for war.
The California legislator is now proposing a less restrictive measure than the one she authored in 1994, which expired 10 years later and Congress refused to extend.
Nevertheless, events change perspectives. The Newtown tragedy is proving to be a watershed moment that has at least for now transformed the way Americans feel about assault weapons. The same thing happened after the massacre at Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton, California, where five children died and another 29 were wounded. This led first to an executive order by President George W. Bush banning imports of assault weapons and later to Feinstein’s 1994 law.
The new proposal by the California senator bans the sale, transfer, manufacture and import of semiautomatic weapons, 157 specific models of weapons and ammunition clips that hold more than 10 rounds. The bill exempts from the ban 2,258 models of weapons designed for recreational use, a lot more than the 373 models from that category exempted in 1994.
The bill is not retroactive. It respects the fact that there are millions of these firearms in civilian hands now and that these numbers are currently increasing given the possibility that may be banned. The idea is to avoid the proliferation of these weapons by banning their sale and to reduce the lethal power of high-capacity magazines.
This is a moderate, common-sense proposal. However, opponents of gun control, whether based on the argument of personal defense or constitutional right, claim that any limits imposed on gun ownership will lead to a total ban and, as a consequence, to political tyranny.
The political debate will be an arduous task. Falsehoods will be said and much money will be spent to promote these falsehoods in order to discredit this measure. We hope that at the end of the day, this bill receives the support it deserves to become a reality.
