Two Democratic state lawmakers are proposing legislation to ban assault weapons in the wake of recent mass shootings.
The bill from senators Mike Skindell and Charleta Tavares makes it a fifth-degree felony to possess or acquire a firearm considered an "assault weapon." That includes any automatic or semi-automatic firearm capable of having a detachable magazine with the capacity to accept ten or more cartridges. It also includes any semi-automatic firearm with a fixed magazine that can accept ten cartridges or more. A similar bill the pair introduced in 2013 went nowhere in the Republican-controlled Legislature. However, their latest effort follows comments by Governor John Kasich supporting limits of the ability to sell weapons such as the AR-15.
