Panel approves assault weapons ban; Cruz, Feinstein get heated

The Hill ^ | 03/14/13 11:39 AM ET | Jonathan Easley

[BradtotheBone]

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a ban on the sale and manufacture of more than 150 types of semi-automatic weapons with military-style features Thursday in a party-line vote.

The 10-8 vote came after a heated exchange between Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who Feinstein scolded for giving her a "lecture" on the Constitution.

It’s the fourth piece of gun control legislation to make it out of committee, and perhaps the one with the longest odds of becoming law given opposition from Republicans to a new ban on so-called assault weapons.

Committee Democrats first beat back four amendments offered by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) that would have carved out exceptions to the ban. Cornyn asked for exceptions for victims of domestic violence, military veterans and those living on Southwest border states that he said were affected by Mexican gang violence.

Feinstein, the sponsor of the underlying bill, called the amendments “an effort to nip it and tuck it and create exceptions.”

Cornyn said it would Feinstein’s bill would leave citizens with “peashooters” and outgunned by criminals.

[LZ_Bayonet]

This clip from the video doesn't include the part, seconds later, where Durbin and Feinstein compare pornography prohibitions in the 1st Amendment to prohibition of certain weapons in the 2nd Amendment. So, according to the Dems, the million upon millions of Americans who own these particular listed weapons are the equivalent of pornographers.

Classifying millons of Americans exercising their 2nd Amendment right as the equivalent of PORNOGRAPHERS!!!!...INCREDIBLE.

[MissMagnolia]

That’s what I thought.

[Red in Blue PA]

Let’s see who puts their name to this monstrosity. I am looking forward to seeing who the Traitors are.

[doberville]

Not tired enough.