House Democrats Push Terrorism Charges for Mass Shooters Using AR-15s

A customer handles an AR-15 at Jimmy's Sport Shop in Mineola, New York on September 25, 20
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images

Reps. Seth Moulton (D-MA) and Veronica Escobar (D-TX) are pushing the “Mass Shooter Prosecution Act,” which would open mass shooters and their “support networks” up to terrorism charges in the event the shooters use guns Democrats typically label “assault weapons.”

Yahoo News quoted Moulton addressing mass shooters, saying, “They are terrorists and they should be prosecuted as terrorists.”

He added, “[The bill] also allows prosecutors to go after the material support networks. Networks that provide aid, perhaps its guidance, instructions maps. Whatever helps these attackers carry out these vicious assaults.”

Escobar said, “My community of El Paso was forever changed by the actions of a domestic terrorist fueled by white supremacy theories. With this legislation, we’re giving law enforcement the tools they need to follow through with investigations into terrorist networks and any individual responsible for attacks against our communities.”

The text of the “Mass Shooter Prosecution Act” defines a mass shooter as “whoever kills 3 or more people in a single incident using a machinegun or a covered semiautomatic weapon in a circumstance described in subsection (b).”

The semiautomatic weapons that qualify under the heading of “mass shooting” are the same types of weapons House Democrats voted to ban last week. Firearms outside those apparently fall outside the parameters of proposed terrorism charges.

The punishment for those who meet the definition of “mass shooter” is imprisonment for “any term of years or for life. ”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkinsa weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.

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