The National Rifle Association (NRA) issued a blistering response to Vice
President Kamala Harris arguing President Biden will ban so-called
"assault weapons."

"@JoeBiden has taken on the @NRA and won. He can do it again," Harris
tweeted Tuesday evening, accompanied by a campaign ad celebrating Biden�s
determination to "ban assault weapons."

The NRA shot back in exclusive comment to Fox News Digital on Wednesday
that Harris needs a history lesson on Biden�s work in the 1990s to ban so-
called "assault weapons."

"Vice President Harris should learn her history before going on social
media. She's referring to Biden's 1994 vote for the 'assault weapons' ban
as his big so-called victory," NRA spokesman Billy McLaughlin told Fox
News Digital. "Yet, thanks to the NRA, the ban expired in 2004. And, AR-15
ownership surged from 850,000 then to 25 million today."

Biden, while serving as a Delaware senator, voted to ban semi-automatic
firearms in 1994 as part of a major crime bill, while the Democrat-
majority House at the time passed the ban as a standalone bill. The bill
ultimately was incorporated into the sweeping anti-crime package and
required exceptions in order to pass, including a sunset provision.

The bill was passed by Congress and signed into law by former President
Bill Clinton in September of that year. It enacted a 10-year ban on the
manufacture, transfer or possession of "semiautomatic assault weapons" and
"large capacity ammunition feeding devices."

Democrats suffered historical losses the next election season, ceding
control of both chambers of Congress to Republicans, as Sen. Dianne
Feinstein, D-Calif., said at the time she did not realize "the power of
the NRA in [Washington, D.C.]."

The law expired in 2004, when George W. Bush was president and Republicans
controlled both chambers of Congress.

"Even President Clinton�s DOJ conceded the ban was ineffective,"
McLaughlin said in his statement.

A Department of Justice study published in 1999 that examined the short-
term effects of the ban and found it "failed to reduce the average number
of victims per gun murder incident or multiple gunshot wound victims."
Another DOJ study published in 2004 determined the ban�s "effects on gun
violence are likely to be small at best and perhaps too small for reliable
measurement."

Democrats, including Biden, have continued championing the bill as one
that curbed mass shootings.

"We can ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in this country
once again. I got that done when I was a senator. It passed. It was the
law for the longest time. And it brought down these mass killings. We
should do it again," Biden said in 2021 following a grocery store shooting
in Boulder, Colorado.

The NRA argued that the AR-15, a semi-automatic rifle frequently
classified by liberals as an "assault weapon," is wildly popular and
described it as "America�s top self-defense rifle."

"A testament to this is the 8-month pregnant Florida mother who, with her
AR-15, defended her family from two armed intruders who brutally assaulted
her husband. Joe and Kamala ought to speak to the many ignored and
forgotten law-abiding Americans who rely on AR-15s for their safety,"
McLaughlin continued, citing a 2019 case where a pregnant mom fatally shot
an armed intruder and sent another suspect fleeing.

BIDEN VOWS TO BAN ASSAULT WEAPONS 'COME HELL OR HIGH WATER'

The White House directed Fox News Digital to the Biden campaign team when
approached for comment on the NRA's statement.

"Time and time again, the gun lobby has chosen profits over human lives.
The NRA doubling down on their deeply unpopular and dangerous support for
weapons of war in our communities is a choice � and it's a losing choice,"
Biden campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

The NRA continued in its statement that the "simple and painful truth is"
the Biden administration is working to "persecute law-abiding gun owners,"
while Americans are "under siege from criminals."

"They're playing politics with human lives and are blind to the fact that
their pro-criminal policies drive more people to buy guns. But then again,
perhaps the President hesitates on enforcing gun laws because of issues
closer to home," McLaughlin concluded.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/nra-digs-history-push-back-120004060.html