The House of Representatives passed the Assault Weapons Ban of 2022 by a vote of 217-213. Two Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while 5 Democrats bucked their party and voted against it. As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the final vote, cheers could be heard in the House chamber.
The bill bans the sale, manufacture, transfer, or import of semi-automatic rifles that can accept a detachable magazine and have at least one of the following features:
- pistol grip
- forward grip
- folding, telescoping, or detachable stock
- grenade launcher
- barrel shroud
- threaded barrel
The legislation also bans semi-automatic rifles that have a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.
The bill does include a list of roughly 2,000 firearms, identified by make and model, that are exempted from the ban. Certain antique rifles and manually operated firearms are also exempt. The legislation does include a grandfather clause for all weapons that are currently in circulation across the country.
The bill now heads to the Senate, where it is unlikely to gain enough Republican support to meet the 60-vote threshold to overcome the filibuster.
