Beatty introduces gun-control measure

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty has introduced a bill that would outlaw the production of militarystyle, semi-automatic assault weapons and the sale of new ones, and prohibit anyone from buying a gun before undergoing a thorough background check.

Although the bill has no chance of passage by the Republicancontrolled House and Senate, the measure gives voters an idea of the type of gun restrictions that Democrats might support if they win control of Congress in November.

Beatty’s bill, which was introduced Monday and has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee, would not only outlaw the production of the type of semi-automatic rifle used by Nikolas Cruz last month when he shot 17 people to death at a Florida high school, but it also would ban the sale of devices known as bump stocks, which can transform a semiautomatic weapon into an automatic weapon.

“Americans are demanding action because every day another family’s world is turned upside-down from gun violence,” Beatty, a Democrat from Columbus, said.

Her proposal would authorize federal dollars to buy back the tens of thousands of assault weapons in private hands. Also under her bill, people who want to sell their own assault weapons in a private sale would be required to have the buyer go through a background check, and police would have to be notified of the sale.