Assault weapons ban only garnered 40 votes, but Sen. Feinstein will continue her work on the issue

by Brian Leubitz

Sen. Dianne Feinstein doesn’t always get a lot of love from the progressive community, and some of her good work tends to get lost. But on the issue of gun safety, there aren’t many leaders on par with our senior Senator.

Sen. Feinstein was the primary proponent of the assault weapons ban in 1994, and has been working on reinstating it since it lapsed in 2004. And, unfortunately, she just has not been able to muster up the votes, and even now, post-Newtown, the NRA proved too powerful.

A ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines fell well short of the votes needed to pass the Senate Wednesday, but Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., vowed to continue her long fight for such legislation.

“I’m disappointed by today’s vote, but I always knew this was an uphill battle,” Feinstein said in a statement after her amendment garnered only 40 votes. “I believe the American people are far ahead of their elected officials on this issue, and I will continue to fight for a renewed ban on assault weapons.”(SacBee)

While some senators were posting tasteless photos on facebook, Sen. Feinstein was continuing her work on gun safety. This shouldn’t be a partisan issue, vast majorities of the nation want universal background checks and other provisions of the law. But few leaders have Sen. Feinstein’s tenacity on this issue, or any issue, and that alone is worthy of high praise.