(Image courtesy of TVW)
A pair gun bills got their first votes at the State Capitol, including one to ban “assault weapons”.
Supporters of House Bill 1240 tell the Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee that weapons, like the AR-15, only serve one purpose, and that’s to cause widespread harm. Ann-Marie Parsons’ daughter was killed in the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting. “With this weapon, you don’t need to be a good marksman to kill and or injure over 900 people,” Parsons says, “No one was targeted that night. They were all mowed down.”
Robin Ball, who owns an indoor sharpshooting range, was among opponents arguing that tougher laws and stricter sentences are what’s needed, referring to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study of the 1990s era assault weapons ban. Ball says, according to that study, “The 10-year gun ban had no measurable impact on gun violence.”
The committee also voted on House Bill 1143, which would require a 10-day waiting period, a state background check and firearms safety training to obtain a 5-year permit to buy a gun.
Both bills were passed on to the next committee by a party line vote of 6 Democrats for and 4 Republicans against.
The committee was also scheduled to vote on House Bill 1144, which is similar to 1143, but they did not vote on that bill nor on House Bill 1178, which would repeal the state’s “preemption”, or ultimate authority to make gun laws and would allow local governments to make their own rules.
You can watch the entire hearing on TVW here.
