House panel moves swiftly to take up gun bill

The House is swiftly working to put its stamp on gun legislation in response to mass shootings in Texas and New York by 18-year-old assailants who used semi-automatic rifles to kill 31 people, including 19 children. Partisan positions were clear at a Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday on legislation that would raise the age limit for purchasing semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21. The bill also would make it a federal offense to import, manufacture or possess large-capacity magazines and would create a grant program to buy back such magazines. It builds on the administration's executive action banning fast-action “bump-stock” devices and “ghost guns” that are assembled without serial numbers. The Democratic legislation, called the Protecting Our Kids Act, was quickly added to the legislative docket after last week's school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. A vote by the full House could come as early as next week. However, with Republicans nearly all in opposition, the House action will mostly be symbolic, merely putting lawmakers on record about gun control ahead of this year's elections. The Senate is taking a different course, with a bipartisan group striving toward a compromise on gun safety legislation that can win enough GOP support to become law. Those talks are making “rapid progress,” according to Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, one of the Republican negotiators. ------------------ For More News and Videos SUBSCRIBE and Turn Notifications On https://bit.ly/2r0BEND Get a Digital Subscription to the Tampa Bay Times https://bit.ly/2Xinunj Follow us: Facebook ►   / tampabaycom   Twitter ►   / tb_times   Instagram ►   / tampabaytimes