Rep. Jim Moran (D) was among the gun control advocates expected to join New York Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D) this afternoon at a news conference introducing a bill that would ban high-capacity ammunition magazines.
McCarthy and Moran are sponsoring the bill in the wake of the shooting in Tucson, Ariz. that left six people dead and 13 wounded, including Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
The bill would ban ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. Such magazines were banned from 1994 to 2004, when Congress let the Clinton-era assault weapon ban expire.
Moran’s office issued the following press release today.
U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, Northern Virginia Democrat, will join Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY04) and advocates for reducing gun violence to discuss the formal introduction of – and a plan to advance – legislation to ban high-capacity ammunition magazines such as those used in tragic shootings in Tucson, AZ.
The bill will be formally introduced when the House of Representatives reconvenes later in the evening. The bill brings the nation to the same 10-round-maximum standard used in at least six states today, as well as nationwide for the decade when the previous federal assault weapons ban was in effect. It also closes a gaping loophole in the previous ban in which magazines manufactured before the law went into effect could still be traded by private sellers.