Sen. Bill Nelson (D., Fla.) on Friday praised Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D., Calif.) proposed assault weapons ban for its lengthy definition of "assault weapon."
Nelson has called for new gun control measures in the aftermath of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in which 17 were killed. The gunman used an AR-15 rifle, which Nelson wants to ban along with a host of guns that meet the definition of "assault weapon" in Feinstein’s bill.
"Are there any draft bills or anything out there right now that you think might get a second look at this point?" a reporter asked.
"Yes, I'm a co-sponsor of all of them. One of them, for example, is Senator Feinstein's bill—there are a number of us sponsoring it—that says that you cannot legally purchase an assault weapon, and then it goes on for 100 pages to define what is an assault weapon and what is not an assault weapon," Nelson said.
He praised Feinstein’s proposal for targeting weapons that he considers the most dangerous, referring to the use of a Sig Sauer MCX at the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla.
"Collectors’ items, for example, would not be an assault weapon, but I’ll tell you what is, and it is the two assault weapons that have got us here in Florida: the AR-15 and the Sig Sauer that took out 49 people in Orlando," Nelson said.
Feinstein’s bill is similar to the assault weapons ban that was in place from 1994-2004, which she also authored at the time. The categorization of certain guns as "assault weapons" has come under criticism for relying on cosmetic features, and Feinstein’s bill is considered highly unlikely to pass or even come to a vote.
Nelson said new gun control laws provide the only path forward, and he blamed Republicans in the Senate for not supporting them.
"You got to change it by changing the law," he said. "Now, changing the law means that you've got to get the votes to get 60 votes. I know we'll have 49 votes in the Senate because that's the number of Democrats we have. You have to pick up eleven Republican senators to break the filibuster, in other words, to get to where you can consider the bill."