WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Alex Padilla (D-CA) in the bicameral reintroduction of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2025, legislation to revive a nationwide ban on assault weapons two decades after the original ban expired. The bill would ban the sale, transfer, manufacture, and import of military-style assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and other high-capacity ammunition feeding devices.
“A uniquely American phenomenon, too many families have had to grieve their loved ones in the wake of a mass shooting. We must act,” Durbin said. “That is why I am signing on to the bicameral Assault Weapons Ban of 2025, which would revitalize a nationwide ban on assault-style weapons and protect our communities from mass shootings.”
“Assault weapons are designed for the battlefield—they don’t belong anywhere near our neighborhoods, our schools or our children,” said Duckworth. “I don’t want my daughters to grow up in a country that won’t protect them from gun violence. The Assault Weapons Ban of 2025 is a common-sense solution that would help keep weapons of war off our streets and prevent mass shootings from continuing to devastate our communities. If Republicans were really ‘pro-life,’ they’d help us get this done so we can save lives.”
While the 1994 ban was in place, the United States saw gun massacres decline by 37 percent and mass shooting fatalities were 70 percent less likely. When the ban expired, deaths in a gun massacre rose 239 percent. A ban on assault-style weapons is not only commonsense legislation, it’s widely supported by Americans, and Congress has failed to keep up with the American people on this issue.
In addition to Durbin, Duckworth, Schiff, Murphy, Blumenthal, and Padilla, the bill is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chris Coons (D-DE), John Fetterman (D-PA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Edward Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
The bill has been endorsed by Brady: United Against Gun Violence, GIFFORDS, Newtown Action Alliance, Everytown for Gun Safety, March for Our Lives, Sandy Hook Promise, and the National Parent Teacher Association.
Full text of the bill is available here.
See quotes of support for the Assault Weapons Ban below:
“From Sandy Hook, to Buffalo, to Uvalde, to Las Vegas, assault weapons have been used repeatedly to inflict the most violence in the shortest time possible. These weapons of war have no place on our streets or in our communities; the easy availability of such firearms creates opportunities for radicalized individuals to inflict mass damage on the public. Congress must say that enough is enough and reinstate the assault weapons ban. Brady thanks Senator Schiff and Representative McBath for reintroducing the Assault Weapons Ban of 2025 and for their continued dedication to freeing America from gun violence,” said Mark Collins, Director of Federal Policy, Brady.
“There is a reason mass shooters choose assault weapons — they can cause an enormous amount of damage and violence in a short period of time. It’s time that Congress take action to manage these firearms and keep them out of dangerous hands. GIFFORDS applauds Senator Schiff and Representative McBath for their leadership in introducing this legislation,” said GIFFORDS Executive Director Emma Brown.
“As we’ve learned from too many mass shootings, when our streets are flooded with weapons of war, those same streets will become war zones,” said John Feinblatt, President of Everytown for Gun Safety. “We applaud Senator Schiff for introducing legislation to keep assault weapons out of civilian hands, which is the very definition of a common-sense gun safety law.”
“When you’ve seen what an AR-15 can do to a classroom, you don’t ask whether these weapons should be banned – you ask how it ever became normal. I survived the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where an assault weapon stole 17 lives in just minutes and shattered countless others forever. March For Our Lives proudly supports the Assault Weapons Ban of 2025 because protecting young lives must come before the gun industry’s blood money. This bill is a step toward a country where survival isn’t up for debate, and where politicians are finally forced to choose between the greed of gun manufacturers and the lives of America’s children,” said Jaclyn Corin, Executive Director & Co-Founder, March For Our Lives.
“As a neighbor of the Sandy Hook shooter, I know the unbearable pain that weapons of war inflict on families and communities. For over a decade, we have worked tirelessly with Senator Feinstein, Congressman Cicilline, and courageous gun violence survivors to build the Campaign Against Assault Weapons and fight for the strongest possible assault weapons ban. We are grateful to Senator Schiff for honoring Senator Feinstein’s legacy by reintroducing the Assault Weapons Ban of 2025 — the gold standard bill that has been the model for state bans. When we win back the trifecta, we will be ready to pass this life-saving legislation once and for all. We owe it to the children and families we have lost, and those who live in daily fear, to pass this bill when the moment comes,” said Po Murray, chairwoman of Newtown Action Alliance.
“For far too long at PTA, we have pushed for common sense solutions to help eliminate gun violence,” said Yvonne Johnson, President of National PTA, the nation’s oldest and largest child advocacy association. “We applaud Senator Schiff for reintroducing the Assault Weapons Ban, which will help make our schools and communities safer and save lives.”
-30-