The House passed an assault weapons ban Friday evening to give Democrats a last-minute victory heading into the August recess.
Five Democrats voted against the measure: Reps. Kurt Schrader, R-Oregon, Vicente Gonzalez, R-Texas, Jared Golden, R-Maine, and Ron Kind, R-Wisc.
Two Republicans voted in favor of the measure: Reps. Chris Jacobs, N.Y., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa.
The ban removed a procedural hurdle that allowed the House to move forward with an expedited debate Friday afternoon, with a final vote expected to follow. Three Democrats — Reps. Vicente Gonzalez, Texas, Jared Golden, Maine, and Kurt Schrader, Oregon — voted “no” with all Republicans, but the resolution passed 217-211.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi flashed a sign on the floor advertising AR-15s for children as she urged members to vote for the ban.
“JR 15: Get ’em one like yours,” the ad reads, along with a photo of a kid-sized AR-15.
“Our goal was to develop a shooting platform that was not only the right size and safe, but also looked, felt and performed like mom and dad’s gun,” the announcement continues.
Gun manufacturer Wee 1 Tactics introduced the ‘JR-15’ in January.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., voiced her support for the boy’s semi-automatic weapon on Twitter.
“The children of Uvalde needed JR-15 to defend themselves from the evil maniac who didn’t care about the law. At least they could have defended themselves, since no one else did, while their parents were being held by the police,” he write in response to Pelosi’s chart.
The House had passed a resolution Friday morning allowing same-day authority, so leadership can fast-track key priorities. The chamber approved the resolution that will allow the ban to be voted on the same day 218-206. Golden and Schrader were the only Democrats to vote against the resolution.
Golden, who represents a heavily red district, previously said he would not vote for a ban on semi-automatic weapons. “I can’t stand any version of that.”
Schrader, who lost his Democratic primary to a progressive and will not return to Congress, called the assault weapons ban a “death wish” for Democrats.
“This is a bill that destroyed ’94. I guess we really have a death wish list as Democrats? he told Politico last week.
The bill is unlikely to get anywhere in the Senate.
The House Judiciary Committee advanced an assault weapons ban last week, the first time in more than 20 years that a congressional panel advanced legislation to ban the possession, sale and transfer of assault weapons. assault Congress enacted an assault weapons ban in 1994 that expired a decade later.
Democrats had originally planned to pursue the assault weapons ban and community safety legislation at the same time, but now they have received a police funding bill. Progressives, especially those in the Congressional Black Caucus, had expressed concern about the police funding legislation that lacked guardrails to steer law enforcement toward more humane behavior.
Pelosi said the House will now pass the community safety bill when lawmakers return in the second week of August.
Congress passed its first major gun reform in 30 years in June, improving background checks for prospective gun buyers under the age of 21 and increasing funding to encourage states to enact red flag laws and mental health services.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi flashed a sign on the floor advertising AR-15s for children as she urged members to vote for the ban.
The children of Uvalde needed JR-15 to defend themselves from the evil lawless maniac.
At least they could have defended themselves since no one else did, while their parents were being held by the police.
“Give the guns to the government” and they will protect you.🙄 pic.twitter.com/E4lQom1QbB
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) July 29, 2022 
A sign advocating an assault weapons ban hangs outside a King Soopers grocery store where 10 people were killed in a mass shooting in late March
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., talks with Rep. Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, during a House hearing on the assault weapons ban
A visual aid behind Committee Chairman Representative Jerry Nadler during the House Judiciary Committee hearing on the assault weapons ban
The bill, which won bipartisan support, fell short of what Biden and Democrats have been pushing for, and last Wednesday’s court hearing became heated when the chair, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, demanded that manufacturers of weapons apologized for the mass shootings.
Maloney asked Marty Daniel, CEO of gun maker Daniel Defense, how many more children need to die for his company to stop selling assault-style weapons. “I think these murders are local problems that need to be solved locally,” Daniel said.
“Are there enough school shootings to convince you to stop selling weapons of war to civilians?” Maloney asked Ruger’s Christopher Killoy.
“Respectfully, Congressman, I do not consider the modern sporting rifles that my company produces to be weapons of war,” he said, “and like all Americans I am saddened when we read about these tragic incidents.”
Republicans on the panel objected to Maloney’s line of questioning, with Rep. Jody Hice, D-Ga., saying that blaming gun manufacturers for gun violence was like blaming the makers of spoons and forks.
Republican Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana suggested legislation banning assault rifles could lead to violence between gun owners and law enforcement agencies trying to confiscate their guns from their homes.
“When these gun fights happen, that blood will be on your hands,” Higgins said, addressing Democratic members of the committee.
Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia tore apart Higgin’s prediction, shouting, “We will not be threatened with violence and bloodshed because we want reasonable gun control!”
