Democratic move to ban weapons blocked by Wyoming’s Senator Barrasso

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - An attempt to reinstate a ban on military-style weapons and create universal background checks was blocked by Republicans on the Senate floor Wednesday.

The bill would have banned the sale and production of more than 200 types of military-style rifles. This included the popular AR-15-style rifle that the National Rifle Association dubbed “America’s rifle.”

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, (D) New York, tried to pass the legislation with unanimous consent, meaning it wouldn’t need a formal vote.

“We already have a decade’s worth of proof that a ban on military-style assault (rifles) works and saves lives, plain and simple,” Schumer said.

In 1994, the U.S. passed a law banning many military-style rifles. The ban expired in 2004.

Recently, the U.S. experienced its 38th mass shooting, where at least four people not including the shooter, were killed. It is a new record, surpassing 2022′s 36 mass shootings.

But Senator John Barrasso, (R) Wyoming, stopped the Democrat’s maneuver.

“Americans have a constitutional right to own a firearm. Every day people across Wyoming responsibly use their Second Amendment rights to keep and to bear arms. Today is about defending those rights against those on the other side of the aisle who wish to take them away from us.”

Another Democrat-sponsored bill was introduced last month targeting firearms mechanisms such as high-capacity magazines instead of a ban based on how a gun locks.

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