Any Day Now

Senate Panel Delays Gun-Control Bills

Republicans say they need more time.

Congress sure is taking its sweet time with those four gun control bills. The Democratic-led Senate Judiciary Committee delayed action on the bills by a week on Thursday, after Republicans said they needed extra time to study the proposed ban on military-style assault weapons. Though backers of the bill say that assault firearms have been the weapon of choice in several recent mass shootings, critics argue that a similar ban that was in effect from 1994 to 2004 had no impact on the nation’s homicide rate. Republicans also question whether a ban would violate Americans’ rights to bear arms under the U.S. Constitution. The panel will take up the four bills again next Thursday.