Delaware Senate Democrats Cross Aisle, Kill ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban

Delaware Democrats crossed the aisle Tuesday and killed a proposed “assault weapons” ban before it could reach the Senate floor for a vote.

This marks the second defeat of the legislation, SB 163, this month. The bill was first defeated in committee, but Breitbart News reported that Senate President Pro Tempore David McBride (D-13) said he was bringing it to the full Senate floor for a vote anyway. Today’s defeat marked McBride’s failure to secure the votes necessary to suspend Senate rules and allow a vote on a bill that had failed to pass committee.

Delaware Online reports that the two Democrats who crossed the aisle to prevent the vote were State Sens. Brian Bushweller (D-Dover) and Bruce Ennis (D-Smyrna).

The failed “assault weapons” ban was a broad prohibition on semi-automatic rifles. It was a Republican Senator—State Sen. Greg Lavelle (R-Sharpley)—who cast the vote that defeated it in committee earlier in the month out of concern that the ban violated Delaware’s constitution.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets with AWR Hawkins, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.