Feinstein on Assault-Weapons Ban: Americans Must Choose Between ‘Personal Pleasure’ and ‘General Welfare’

The Washington Post reports that the Senate Judiciary Committee may vote on Dianne Feinstein’s (D., Calif.) assault-weapons ban as early as Thursday. The committee is holding a hearing on the ban this morning, and Feinstein — who believes that current gun laws are “virtually nonexistent” — said she expects witnesses to “make the case” for its constitutionality. On MSNBC yesterday, she framed the necessity of the ban by saying that the “mothers, the women, the men of America have to make a decision as to whether their personal pleasure is more important than the general welfare,” and she warned of “grievance killers” getting their hands on firearms.

Feinstein is set to face an uphill battle, though, as senators from both sides of the aisle have said the ban goes too far and violates the Second Amendment. Because of committee and procedural rules, a vote on the ban may be postponed or dropped until next week, if not later. Some other bills that could be considered soon are those that would expand background checks, make gun trafficking a federal crime, and provide federal funding for school security, proposed by senators Schumer, Leahy, and Boxer, respectively.