TheBlaze Fact-Checks Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s Anti-Gun Claims Made During Senate Committee Hearing

With photos of Sandy Hook Elementary School victims in the background, Senate Judiciary Committee member, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. speaks on on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. during the committee’s hearing on the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) made her case in favor of gun control during a packed hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. The hearing was called to debate Feinstein’s proposed a ban on so-called “assault weapons.”

“Let me now describe the key features of our new legislation, the ‘Assault Weapons Ban of 2013,’” Feinstein said Wednesday. “The bill bans the sale, transfer, importation, and manufacturing of 157 specifically named semi-automatic assault weapons.”

She continued: “It also bans any other assault weapon, which is defined as a semi-automatic weapon that can accept a detachable magazine and has one military characteristic, such as a pistol grip, barrel shroud, or folding stock…These features were developed for military weapons to make them more effective and efficient at killing people in close-combat situations.”…….

But do the facts support Feinstein’s argument?

Let’s start with the claim that mass killings are on the rise in the United States. According to the Associated Press, those who study mass shootings say they are not becoming more common.

“There is no pattern, there is no increase,” says criminologist James Allen Fox of Boston’s Northeastern University, who has been studying the subject since the 1980s, spurred by a rash of mass shootings in post offices.

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http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/02/27/fact-check-sen-feinstein-claims-u-s-has-witnessed-an-increased-number-of-mass-shootings-during-gun-control-hearing/