McCarthy unveils strict gun-control bill

Carolyn McCarthy’s bill goes further than than the assault weapon ban that expired in 2004. | AP Photo By: Shira Toeplitz January 13, 2011 01:26 PM EST

The fiercest gun-control advocate in Congress released the text of a bill she plans to introduce next week that would outlaw high-capacity magazines like the one a gunman used to shoot 20 people in a matter of seconds in Arizona this weekend. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy’s (D-N.Y.) bill also goes further than than the assault weapon ban that expired in 2004, outlawing the sale or transfer of clips that hold more than ten rounds, even those obtained before the law takes effect, according to a copy of the bill obtained by POLITICO. The bill closes a loophole in the expired assault weapon ban that let gun owners buy high-capacity magazines made before the ban took effect in 1994. AUDIO: Rep. McCarthy on high-capacity ammunition VIDEO: Bloomberg on guns The bill carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. “The only purpose for the existence of these devices is to be able to shoot as many people as possible as quickly as possible,” McCarthy wrote in a letter to her colleagues that accompanied the bill. “There is no reason that these devices should be available to the general public.” The bill faces an uphill climb in the new Republican-controlled House. An aide to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said it’s unlikely that he would support it. Still, since McCarthy floated her plans for a gun-control bill on Sunday, three other New Yorkers have followed suit, saying they planned to introduce bills as well. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) said he will propose a companion bill to McCarth’s in the Senate. Gun control is a personal matter for McCarthy, whose husband was murdered and son seriously injured in 1993, when a disturbed gunman opened fire on a Long Island commuter train. Like the alleged Arizona shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, the gunman who killed McCarthy’s husband also used a high-capacity magazine. “The United States Constitution guarantees to our citizens the right to keep and bear arms,” McCarthy wrote in a letter to her colleagues that accompanied the bill. “At the same time that we can all acknowledge this basic right, I believe that we should also be able to come together to develop reasonable laws designed to ensure that the right to bear arms is exercised safely and responsibly.” McCarthy originally planned to introduce the legislation this week, but in the wake of the shooting, the House suspended most of its regular business until next week.

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