Bill Nelson Praises Proposed Gun Ban That ‘Goes on for 100 Pages’ to Define Assault Weapon
BY: Paul Crookston
FreeBeacon.com
February 16, 2018
Sen. Bill Nelson (D., Fla.) on Friday praised Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D., Calif.) proposed assault weapons ban for its lengthy definition of “assault weapon.”
Nelson has called for new gun control measures in the aftermath of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in which 17 were killed. The gunman used an AR-15 rifle, which Nelson wants to ban along with a host of guns that meet the definition of “assault weapon” in Feinstein’s bill.
“Are there any draft bills or anything out there right now that you think might get a second look at this point?” a reporter asked.
“Yes, I’m a co-sponsor of all of them. One of them, for example, is Senator Feinstein’s bill—there are a number of us sponsoring it—that says that you cannot legally purchase an assault weapon, and then it goes on for 100 pages to define what is an assault weapon and what is not an assault weapon,” Nelson said.
He praised Feinstein’s proposal for targeting weapons that he considers the most dangerous, referring to the use of a Sig Sauer MCX at the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla.
“Collectors’ items, for example, would not be an assault weapon, but I’ll tell you what is, and it is the two assault weapons that have got us here in Florida: the AR-15 and the Sig Sauer that took out 49 people in Orlando,” Nelson said.
Feinstein’s bill is similar to the assault weapons ban that was in place from 1994-2004, which she also authored at the time. The categorization of certain guns as “assault weapons” has come under criticism for relying on cosmetic features, and Feinstein’s bill is considered highly unlikely to pass or even come to a vote.
Nelson said new gun control laws provide the only path forward, and he blamed Republicans in the Senate for not supporting them.
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