Gun dealers would be prohibited from importing assault weapons under new legislation proposed Tuesday.
The partial assault weapons ban introduced by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) would only apply to foreign guns, not those that are manufactured in the United States.
{mosads}The Democratic bill, though, is highly unlikely to pass in a Republican-controlled Congress.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) would be required to publish a list of assault weapons that are prohibited from being imported into the country. The list would include high-powered firearms, such as Russian-made AK-47s, that Speier says “are not suitable or readily adaptable for sporting purposes.”
“Cheap foreign assault weapons are a favorite tool of cartels, mass shooters and even ISIS, which used guns that had been imported to the United States to carry out the Paris attacks,” Speier said.
“They give these individuals the power to kill and wound scores of victims in seconds, and that’s why the ATF has the power to ban them,” she added. “Now we have to stop letting NRA lobbyists control what kinds of weapons come to our shores and close this loophole before more people end up dead.”