By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Anti-gun House Democrats have scheduled a markup Wednesday on H.R. 1808, a bill that would ban so-called “assault weapons,” and “any semi-automatic rifle ‘that has a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds, except for an attached tubular device designed to accept, and capable of operating only with, .22 caliber rimfire ammunition,’” according to the National Rifle Association.
The action comes three days after a would-be mass killer opened fire at a shopping mall in Greenwood, Indiana, but was shot dead by a legally-armed private citizen. However, 20-year-old Jonathan Sapirman of Greenwood was the alleged gunman who managed to kill three people and wound two others. He was fatally shot by 22-year-old Elisjsha Dicken, of nearby Seymour, according the Associated Press. Dicken is being hailed as a hero.
The gun control legislation is sponsored by Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI), and will be considered by the House Judiciary Committee.
The measure would also place limits on so-called “high capacity magazines,” and prohibit firearms found on a lengthy list contained in the bill.
There is another list, this one naming hundreds of rifles and shotguns which are exempted from the legislation.
Critics are calling the legislation unconstitutional. In addition to the NRA, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms has alerted its members of the looming Wednesday markup. The National Shooting Sports Foundation—the industry trade organization—estimated in 2020 there were almost 20 million firearms that might be categorized as so-called “assault weapons.” That number has certainly grown by now, considering the surge in gun buying that has occurred in the past two years. As notd by the NRA, these firearms come standard with magazines that hold more than ten cartridges.
This markup will come three days after he deadly Greenwood Park Mall attack. Authorities are still sorting out the crime and trying to establish a motive.
According to Reuters, Greenwood Mayor Mark Meyers said in a prepared statement, “We do know that someone we are calling a ‘Good Samaritan’ was able to shoot the assailant and stop further bloodshed. This person saved lives tonight. I am grateful for his quick action and heroism.”
Greenwood Police Chief Jim Ison told reporters, “The real hero of the day is the citizen that was lawfully carrying a firearm in that food court and was able to stop the shooter almost as soon as he began.”
According to a Fox News update, the suspected gunman hay have spent more than an hour in a rest room before the attack. Sapirman reportedly left his job in May. He reportedly had two firearms including one carried in a backpack.
Despite all the sensationalism heaped on semi-automatic rifles such as the AR-15 and AK-47, the annual FBI Uniform Crime Report invariably shows that rifles of any kind are used in a fraction of all homicides in any given year. Typically, the number hovers around 2 to 4 percent.
