House panel advances anti-gun violence legislation

The House Judiciary Committee advanced legislation on Tuesday to prevent high-risk people from having guns and ban high-capacity ammunition magazines as Democrats seek to dial up pressure on Senate Republicans to respond to a string of mass shootings this summer.

House Democrats moved swiftly to advance three gun control measures after returning from a six-week summer recess, during which a series of mass shootings left dozens of people dead in Gilroy, Calif.; Dayton, Ohio; El Paso, Texas; and Odessa, Texas.

The Judiciary Committee advanced all three measures along party lines.

The first bill would authorize grants incentivizing states to establish so-called "red flag" laws that allow family members or law enforcement to petition a judge to temporarily take away a gun from a person considered a threat to themselves or others. Another measure would prohibit people convicted of misdemeanor hate crimes from possessing firearms.