Dear John, 

Moments ago, my colleagues and I in the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill I cosponsored to ban the sale, manufacture, transfer, and/or possession of semi-automatic assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in America - the Assault Weapons Ban of 2022, H.R. 1808.

We all know passage of this legislation is overdue. Common sense tells us action is required now because six of the ten deadliest mass shootings in recent American history (including Uvalde, Texas and Parkland, Florida) involved legally purchased assault weapons from licensed dealers, sometimes just weeks prior to the shooting. For too long, assault weapons have senselessly proliferated communities across the country because the gun lobby has been able to thwart practical efforts to keep our communities safe since 2004 – when the last assault weapons ban expired. I fought for and voted for that 10-year ban in 1994.

As part of my ongoing efforts to protect the citizens of Baltimore and the state of Maryland from the violence and pain inflicted by these weapons of war, I am proud to be a leader in the fight to keep assault weapons off our streets, away from our schools, and out of our communities. That’s why I cosponsored and voted in favor of H.R. 1808, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2022.   

Sincerely,

Kweisi Mfume
Member of Congress