New federal assault weapons bill aims to close loopholes of expired ban

Vice President Joe Biden traveled to Richmond, Virginia today to hold a roundtable event on the administration’s efforts to reduce gun violence. His visit comes a day after Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced a federal assault weapons ban, starting a contentious debate on the federal legislation. Biden spoke with the public about the ban in an online video chat.

“Police organizations overwhelmingly support it because they get outgunned. They are outgunned on the street by the bad guys and the proliferation of these weapons.”

Feinstein’s bill would ban the sale, transfer, manufacturing and importation of military style semi-automatic rifles and high capacity magazines that carry more than 10 rounds. It lists 157 types of weapons that would be banned. It excludes more than two-thousand models of guns that would still be legal for hunting and sporting. The path to becoming law is fraught with challenges as Republican and some Democratic lawmakers have criticized it. In addition, the powerful NRA lobby has vowed to fight its passage. For more, we’re joined by Benjamin Van Houten, managing attorney at the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. To view the full text of the 2013 bill: http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/assault-weapons