Bucking other Texas Democrats, Cuellar and Gonzalez vote against U.S. House bill that would ban semi-automatic weapons

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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Home accredited the Assault Weapons Ban on Friday, a invoice that may impose the primary ban in many years on semi-automatic weapons. It follows mass shootings in Uvalde and throughout the nation, and members of the Texas delegation voted principally alongside social gathering traces.

Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, and Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, have been the one Texans to buck their social gathering after they voted towards the invoice, which seems destined to fail within the Senate. The 2 members have been amongst 5 Home Democrats to oppose the laws, which narrowly handed on a 217-213 vote.

The invoice would ban the importing, manufacturing, promoting, transferring or possession of sure kinds of semi-automatic weapons. It will cowl semi-automatic pistols and rifles that settle for removable magazines and have sure kinds of barrels, grips and shares.

The passage of the laws comes after years of mass shootings, together with the shootings at Robb Elementary Faculty in Uvalde and at a church in Sutherland Springs, the place the gunmen used such weapons. Some Democrats spoke in favor of the laws on the Home flooring Friday whereas standing subsequent to photographs of the victims of the Uvalde taking pictures.

“There are 19 infants who have been murdered at Robb Elementary Faculty in Texas who won’t ever have the correct to vote. … There are two academics who have been murdered who won’t ever have the chance to hunt the long run that was theirs,” Rep. Al Inexperienced, D-Houston, stated earlier than Friday’s vote. “We’ve a governor within the state of Texas who might have saved all of these lives if he had … after the taking pictures at Walmart [in El Paso] that took 23 lives … laws corresponding to what we’re passing right now.”

The laws stands just about no likelihood of passing the Senate, the place 60 votes are wanted to finish debate. Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican who was the GOP chief in bipartisan gun security talks final month, informed reporters there can be no extra gun negotiations after Congress handed a modest gun measure earlier this summer season.

Congress most not too long ago handed an assault weapons ban in 1994, but it surely expired 10 years later. The mass shootings have renewed calls from Texas politicians and different Democrats for one more ban.

Cuellar and Gonzalez, who’re in tight reelection races this yr, have been the one two Texas Democrats to not co-sponsor the semi-automatic weapons ban.

Republicans blasted Democrats for supporting the laws.

“What would do extra proper now than banning AR-15s can be to ban Democrat considering within the massive cities that’s permitting the crime charges to simply explode,” Rep. Louie Gohmert of Tyler stated on the Home flooring earlier than Friday’s vote.

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