February, 14 2019, 11:00pm EDT
Violence Policy Center Statement in Support of Representative Cicilline's Bill Banning Assault Weapons and High-Capacity Ammunition Magazines
Following Representative David Cicilline's (D-RI) introduction today of a bill to ban semiautomatic assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, Violence Policy Center Legislative Director Kristen Rand issued the following statement:
WASHINGTON
Following Representative David Cicilline's (D-RI) introduction today of a bill to ban semiautomatic assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, Violence Policy Center Legislative Director Kristen Rand issued the following statement:
"Semiautomatic assault weapons equipped with high-capacity ammunition magazines incorporate characteristics specifically designed for soldiers on the battlefield, yet under federal law they are sold as easily as bolt-action hunting rifles. As a result of the gun industry's hyper-marketing of these military bred weapons, they are consistently used by civilians to carry out unspeakable atrocities. The easy availability of these weapons of war has resulted in mass shootings that leave families and communities devastated. These include the 2018 attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which left 17 dead and 17 wounded, which happened one year ago this week. In addition, Representative Cicilline's bill would ban all devices that can be attached to such weapons to accelerate their rate of fire, not just 'bump stock' devices like the ones used in the 2017 shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada--the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history--which left 58 victims dead and 489 injured. The VPC applauds Representative Cicilline's leadership on this issue. His bill is essential to demilitarizing civilian firepower and helping make us all safer."
The Violence Policy Center (VPC) works to stop gun death and injury through research, education, advocacy, and collaboration. Founded in 1988 by Executive Director Josh Sugarmann, a native of Newtown, Connecticut, the VPC informs the public about the impact of gun violence on their daily lives, exposes the profit-driven marketing and lobbying activities of the firearms industry and gun lobby, offers unique technical expertise to policymakers, organizations, and advocates on the federal, state, and local levels, and works for policy changes that save lives. The VPC has a long and proven record of policy successes on the federal, state, and local levels, leading the National Rifle Association to acknowledge us as "the most effective ... anti-gun rabble-rouser in Washington."
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After about three hours of oral arguments Thursday on former President Donald Trump's immunity claims, legal experts and democracy defenders urged the U.S. Supreme Court to rule swiftly, with just over six months until the November election.
Trump—the presumptive Republican candidate to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden, despite his 88 felony charges in four ongoing criminal cases—is arguing that presidential immunity should protect him from federal charges for trying to overturn his 2020 loss to Biden, which culminated in the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
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After warning that a president could also order the occupation or closure of the Capitol or high court to prevent actions against him, CREW concluded that "the Supreme Court never should have taken this appeal up in the first place. They should rule quickly and shut these ludicrous claims down for good."
The organization was far from alone in demanding a quick decision from the nation's highest court.
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On Thursday, the arguments "got away from the central question: Is a former president immune from criminal prosecution if he tried to overthrow a presidential election, using private means and the power of his office to do so?" the Brennan Center noted. "The answer is simple: No."
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According to NBC:
Matthew Seligman, a lawyer and a fellow at the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School who filed a brief backing prosecutors, said Sauer's concessions highlight that Trump is "not immune for the vast majority of the conduct alleged in the indictment."
Ultimately, he said, the case will go to trial "absent some external intervention—like Trump ordering [the Justice Department] to drop the charges" after having won the election.
At the same time, Sauer's backtracking might have little consequence from an electoral perspective. Further delay in a trial, which Sauer is close to achieving, is a form of victory in itself.
Slate's Mark Joseph Stern pointed out that when Barrett similarly questioned Michael Dreeben, the U.S. Department of Justice lawyer arguing the case for Smith, it seemed like they "were trying to work out some compromise wherein the trial court could distinguish between official and unofficial acts, then instruct the jury not to impose criminal liability on the former."
"It was fascinating to watch Barrett nodding along as Dreeben pitched a compromise that would largely preserve Smith's January 6 prosecution but limit what the jury could hear, or at least consider," Stern added. "That, though, would take months to suss out in the trial court. More delays!"
Stern and other experts signaled that the decision likely comes down to Barrett and Chief Justice John Roberts, with the three liberals seemingly supporting the prosecution of Trump and the other four conservatives suggesting it is unconstitutional.
People for the American Way president Svante Myrick said in a statement that "today's argument brought both good and bad news. It was chilling to hear Donald Trump's lawyer say that staging a military coup could be considered part of a president's official duties."
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