Florida lawmakers reject motion to consider bill that would ban assault rifles

Florida lawmakers have reportedly rejected an attempt to consider a bill that would ban assault rifles, less than a week after the shooting at a Parkland, Fla., high school.

The Florida House on Tuesday voted 36-71 against a motion to consider a bill to ban assault rifles and large capacity magazines, according to The Associated Press.

The vote, which effectively kills the bill for the legislative session ending on March 9, comes amid a major push for gun control reform in the wake of the Florida shooting.

Lawmakers, gun control advocates and student survivors of the Parkland shooting in recent days have urged Congress and the administration to implement tougher gun measures.

Seventeen people were killed and others injured in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last week. The suspected shooter, Nikolas Cruz, allegedly used an AR-15 assault rifle that he had purchased legally.

Students from the school were present in the gallery and looked on as the House voted against considering the bill, according to Local10 News.

The bill was assigned to three committees but was not scheduled for a hearing, according to the AP. Because of Tuesday’s vote not to remove the bill from committee and let it be considered by the full House, the bill is essentially dead for this session, since the committees will not meet again before March 9.

President Trump on Tuesday directed the Justice Department to review the regulation of bump stocks, devices that modify semi-automatic weapons to shoot hundreds of rounds per minute. The devices were used in the Las Vegas shooting in October.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) announced last week that she would introduce legislation in the Senate to raise the minimum purchasing age for assault rifles to 21.

Updated: 4:30 p.m.