House passes new assault weapons ban

(Image credit: Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The House of Representatives on Friday voted 217-213, largely along party lines, to pass the Assault Weapons Ban of 2022.

Five Democrats — Reps. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), Jared Golden (D-Maine), Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) and Ron Kind (D-Wis.) — voted against the bill, while two Republicans — Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Chris Jacobs (R-N.Y.) — voted in favor of it. The Hill notes that if "the two Republicans had voted with their party," they might have "tied the vote 215-215, preventing Democrats from getting to the 216-vote threshold they needed to pass the bill."

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President Biden urged the Senate to "move quickly to get this bill to my desk," but the ban is unlikely to receive the 60 Senate votes it would need to overcome the filibuster.

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Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.