WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Twenty-three Democrats in the US Senate introduced legislation on Wednesday to ban the sale of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, according to Senator Dianne Feinstein's office.
Feinstein acknowledged that the bill will not stop every mass shooting in the United States and the process to reduce the number of assault weapons in the country will be a long one, but US lawmakers must start somewhere.
"To my colleagues in Congress, I say do your job," Feinstein, a ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has stated.
READ MORE: What's Next for US Gun Control After Carnage at a Texas Church?
According to the the office of New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, the bill would also ban high-capacity ammunition magazines.
Feinstein was quoted in the release as saying the Democrats introduced the bill for one simple reason, "so that after every mass shooting with a military-style assault weapon, the American people will know that a tool to reduce these massacres is sitting in the Senate, ready for debate and a vote."
The National Rifle Association successfully campaigned to stop the first Assault Weapons Ban when it was due for reauthorization in 2004, with Feinstein saying it should have been extended 13 years ago as it was starting to show an effect.
Texas Shooting
According to US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF, Kelley bought three firearms, including a rifle he left in the church after the massacre and two handguns the police found in his vehicle.
READ MORE: US Senate Panel to Hold Hearing on Weapons Regulations in Wake of Texas Shooting
The deadly attack that took place just over a month after the Las Vegas massacre — the deadliest shooting in the US history — has again sparked a debate on the gun control in the US, while many opponents to tougher laws are referring to the Second Amendment to the US Constitution guarantees the right of Americans to keep and bear arms.
