Do You Support a Ban on High-Capacity Gun Magazines?

What’s the story?

• As we near the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, a group of Democratic lawmakers are reintroducing legislation that would ban high-capacity gun magazines.

What’s the bill?

• The "Keep Americans Safe Act” would make it a crime to knowingly import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess any magazine that exceeds 10 rounds of ammunition. 

What are both sides saying?

• The legislation was cosponsored by Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ).
• Deutch, whose district includes Parkland, pointed to a surfeit of mass shootings, including Las Vegas and Sandy Hook, arguing that "high-capacity magazines make those shooters dramatically more dangerous. You've got to take action to address it."

"The fact is that these high-capacity magazines allow someone to fire off more than 10 rounds in a row. You don't need that if you're a hunter, you don't need that for any purpose. You don't need that for sporting purposes."

• Jennifer Baker, a spokeswoman for the National Rifle Association, dismissed the Keep America Safe Act:
• "This legislation would effectively ban the most commonly owned firearms for self-defense. It is an arbitrary limit pulled out of thin air with no evidence that the limits would improve public safety. In fact the after report from the deadliest school shooting in American history states that magazine limits would have had no impact.”

“This is just more nonsense from anti-gun zealots who are looking to score political points by proposing legislation that would make criminals out of law-abiding citizens exercising their constitutional right to self-defense while doing nothing to deter criminals from committing crimes," Baker added.

What do you think?

Do you support a ban on high-capacity gun magazines? Or is this “more nonsense from anti-gun zealots”? Take action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman