Activists make last-minute push for "assault weapons" ban

Gun control activists are heading to Washington, D.C. this week for a last-ditch attempt to get the Senate to pass (or at least hold a vote) to ban the sale and manufacture of so-called assault weapons; a trip that has as much to do with influencing public opinion as lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

It remains to be seen if Senate Majority Chuck Schumer will hold a vote on the bill, which even supporters like Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut admit doesn’t have the votes needed to send the measure to Joe Biden for his signature, but backers of a ban on modern sporting rifles are engaging in intense lobbying efforts this week for the Senate to take action.

Survivors and victims family members from Uvalde, Highland Park, and other mass shootings are heading to Capitol Hill today and tomorrow to lobby lawmakers in person, while dozens of big-city mayors (the vast majority of them Democrats) have sent letters to Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urging a lame-duck vote as well.