Alex Padilla U.S. Senator for California

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) led the bicameral reintroduction of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2025, legislation to reinstate a nationwide ban on military-style assault weapons. The bill would prohibit the sale, transfer, manufacture, and import of assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and other high-capacity ammunition feeding devices. 

The Senators called for swift passage of the legislation at a press conference today, where they were joined by gun safety advocates from Brady: United Against Gun Violence, GIFFORDS, and Newtown Action Alliance, along with survivors of the 2012 Sandy Hook and 2018 Parkland shootings.

Senators Padilla and Schiff are continuing the legacy of the late California Senator Dianne Feinstein, who authored the original 1994 assault weapons ban. That legislation passed with bipartisan support and remained in effect until it expired in 2004. Senator Feinstein spent the rest of her Senate career fighting to reinstate it.

Key Excerpts from Senator Padilla’s Remarks

• The numbers don’t lie. The assault weapon ban works. Fatalities are down because of it. Lives have been saved. The number of incidents have been reduced. But as you pointed out, state laws stop at the state line, and as long as it’s easy for someone in California to leave the state and bring back an assault weapon, or somebody from a neighboring state to come to California with an assault weapon, we’re still at risk. And so we need a national ban, as we had once upon a time under the leadership of our predecessor, Senator Feinstein.

• I stand here, not just as a Senator, but as a proud father of three school-aged children. … In California, we’re not unfamiliar with fire drills and earthquake drills, but when a child comes home explaining to a parent what an active shooter drill is at school, it should make us all mad that that’s what we are living in the United States of America in the year 2025. It doesn’t have to be this way.

• Our Republican colleagues may offer their thoughts and prayers, but sadly, that’s it. They’ll offer thoughts and prayers and then sit back and do nothing. If they do anything, it’s they actively block our efforts like advancing an assault weapons ban and other commonsense gun safety legislation. The country deserves better.

• For those who hear the false argument that, “Oh, what about the Second Amendment?” This is not about the Second Amendment. This is about saving lives.

• Should military assault weapons be on the streets of our communities? No. Should weapons of war be found in our grocery stores, at concerts, and houses of worship? No. Are our Republican colleagues more loyal to the gun lobby or to the constituents that elected them to make their communities safer?

• Today, we are proudly and adamantly putting the assault weapons ban back on the table because we know these bans can save lives. We know they reduce the number of mass shootings, and we know that if we fail to act, more Americans, more children will die.

• So we’re calling on our Republican colleagues: please have the backbone. Have the courage to stand up and protect your constituents, protect our communities. Have the courage to put people over profits.

• As long as we’re willing to fight for our children, we can’t lose hope. There is hope. Call your Members of Congress, organize, speak out. We can and we must win this fight.

Video of Senator Padilla’s remarks is available here and can be downloaded here.

While the original ban was in place, the United States saw a 37 percent drop in gun massacres, and deaths in mass shootings were 70 percent less likely. After the ban expired, fatalities in gun massacres rose by 239 percent. A ban on assault-style weapons is not only commonsense policy, it’s broadly supported by the American public. Congress must act to catch up with the will of the people.

Congresswoman Lucy McBath (D-Ga.-06) is leading companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

“Thirty-one years ago, after the Stockton schoolyard shooting in California, Senator Feinstein successfully led bipartisan legislation to ban military-style assault weapons. Over the next ten years, and until the measure expired, the assault weapons ban was a vital tool in the struggle to reduce gun violence and mass shootings. It saved lives. Today, I’m honored to carry on the legacy of Dianne Feinstein, and work to ban these weapons that have led to the most terrible mass casualty events in our communities. The time to act on this life-saving legislation is now — not tomorrow, not next week, and not when the next tragedy strikes,” said Senator Schiff. 

“Assault weapons are designed for one thing: to kill as many people as possible, as quickly as possible. These are weapons of war that have no place in our communities, and it’s long past time we treated them that way. A majority of Americans support an assault weapons ban, and it’s time for Republicans to get on board and pass this bill before more lives are lost,” said Senator Murphy. 

“Assault weapons have only one practical purpose – to slaughter human beings. These military-style combat weapons are designed to maximize death and destruction. No self-respecting hunter uses one. Assault weapons have brought bloodshed and carnage to our streets and our schools. Guns don’t respect state boundaries, which is why we need a national solution to restricting the ownership and use of the mass shooter’s weapon of choice,” said Senator Blumenthal. 

“Assault weapons are made to murder and maim. These weapons of war do not belong on our streets, in our classrooms, or in our spaces of worship,” said Representative McBath. ”Since the death of my son, I have dedicated my life to preventing more families from feeling the pain of losing a loved one to gun violence. No one should fear for their child’s safety when they head off to school or the mall. Banning assault weapons is a proven way to prevent horrific massacres from devastating our country. I thank Senator Schiff and my House colleagues for their support of this important bill.” 

The bill is cosponsored by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai’i), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). 

The Assault Weapons Ban is endorsed by Brady: United Against Gun Violence, GIFFORDS, Newtown Action Alliance, Everytown for Gun Safety, March for Our Lives, Sandy Hook Promise, and the National Parent Teacher Association. 

Senator Padilla is a strong advocate for commonsense, lifesaving gun safety reforms. Earlier this year, Padilla led 18 Senators in introducing the Age 21 Act, legislation to raise the minimum age to purchase assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines from 18 to 21, the same age requirement that already applies to purchasing handguns from federally licensed dealers. In June 2022, Padilla voted to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant gun safety legislation in almost 30 years. Last year, Padilla introduced bicameral legislation to prevent the federal government from contracting with federally licensed firearms dealers that have a documented history of selling a disproportionate number of guns that end up being used to commit violent crimes. In 2023, Padilla joined 27 of his Senate colleagues in reintroducing the Keep Americans Safe Act, renewing efforts to ban the importation, sale, manufacturing, transfer, or possession of gun magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

Full text of the bill is available here.

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