US Democrats Hail New Zealand's Move on Banning Assault Weapons

WASHINGTON - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's quick action to ban assault rifles after a horrific mass shooting prompted leading Democrats to demand tough gun control in the United States, where mass shootings have killed hundreds in recent years and where modest legislation to regulate the sale of firearms is stalled in Congress.Independent senator and Democratic presidential aspirant Bernie Sanders on Thursday hailed New Zealand's move just days after a gunman's rampage left 50 mosque-goers dead in Christchurch.'This is what real action to stop gun violence looks like. We must follow New Zealand's lead, take on the NRA [National Rifle Association] gun lobby and ban the sale and distribution of assault weapons in the United States,' Sanders wrote on Twitter. For years, the Vermont lawmaker has had a mixed record on gun control.'Weapons designed for the sole purpose of killing people as effectively, as efficiently, and in as great a number as possible should no longer be sold into our communities,' said former Texas Congressman Beto O'Rourke, who is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.Ardern on Thursday announced a ban on military-style semi-automatic weapons, assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in a nation that suffered an unprecedented mass shooting last week.In 1994, the U.S. Congress approved a 10-year ban on assault weapons that was signed into law by President Bill Clinton. The measure expired in 2004, and amid heavy pressure from gun rights groups, was not renewed by a Republican-led Congress.According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the United States has an estimated 12 million semi-automatic weapons, which account for roughly one-in-five firearms sold in the country.Over the last decade, the United States has recorded 15 major shooting incidents in which there were at least 10 fatalities, with a combined death toll of nearly 300, not including the perpetrators. Semi-automatic

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