Feinstein's Weapons Ban Exempts Shotgun Used by Navy Yard Shooter

Although Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) called for a revival of the gun control debate following the Navy Yard shooting, her recently-defeated legislation would not have banned the gun Aaron Alexis used to kill 12 people.

As Breitbart News reported in January, the “assault weapons” ban Feinstein offered earlier this year would have not only banned “assault rifles” but also numerous pistols and shotguns. It would have allowed some of the banned weapons to remain with their owners–to be “grandfathered” in–but would have required the guns to be registered and the owners of those guns to be fingerprinted and photographed.

In total, the Associated Press reports that Feinstein’s bill would ban over 150 weapons outright if brought up again–all under the guise of public safety. The White House publicly supported the legislation.

However, Feinstein’s bill would not have stopped the shooting at the Navy Yard, because the shooter used a Remington 870. The 870 is one of the most popular pump-shotgun platforms ever made, and Feinstein exempted it to prove she was not trying to take away hunting firearms. 

If her bill had passed in April, Feinstein’s call for expaneded gun control in the wake of the Navy Yard shooting would likely cover some hunting firearms, too. The California senator has yet to see that the failure of existing gun laws to deter criminals is not solved by ever more gun laws.

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins.