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Rep. David Cicilline (D, Rhode Island) introduced the Assault Weapons Ban of 2019 in February, including 190 Democratic supporters, with even more joining the cause following the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton.
This week, King became the first Republican lawmaker to show his support for the legislation. He has previously shown his support for improving background checks before gun purchases, before the latest mass shootings.
His public backing comes on the heels of a Great Neck doctor was busted with multiple assault rifles, high-caliber ammunition, and other weapons after allegedly threatening his estranged wife and her family in Westchester.
The proposed legislation would make it illegal to import, transfer, manufacture, sell or possess semi-automatic assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition. There would be exceptions made for police and “securely stored grandfathered assault weapons.”
“I think the assault weapons ban is timely now, especially in view of the shooting in El Paso and Dayton,” King told the New York Daily News. “They are weapons of mass slaughter. I don’t see any need for them in everyday society.
“It might give cover to some other Republicans,” the longtime Congressman added. “It might give some inactive to Democrats.”
President Donald Trump downplayed the proposed assault weapons ban earlier this month, stating, “there’s no political appetite, probably, from the standpoint of the legislature.”
“Grateful to Congressman Peter King for his support of the Assault Weapons Ban,” Cicilline said. “It’s time for my other Republican colleagues to stop worrying about their ratings from the gun lobby and start protecting the lives of their constituents.”
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