David Hogg escorted out of House meeting on assault weapons ban
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Gun control activist David Hogg speaking in Washington, D.C. in June 2022. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
David Hogg, a gun control activist and survivor of the 2018 Parkland school shooting, was escorted out of a House Judiciary Committee meeting on Wednesday after yelling at Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), claiming that the congressman was repeating language used by mass shooters.
Why it matters: The committee was holding a markup on legislation that would ban the sale, import, manufacture or transfer of certain semiautomatic weapons that the bill defines as assault weapons.
What they're saying: After being escorted out of the committee meeting, Hogg said in a social media post that he believed Biggs was repeating talking points that have been found in manifestos written by gunmen who have carried out racially motivated mass shootings.
- Before Hogg interrupted the meeting, Biggs had characterized increased immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border as "an invasion," claiming that immigration was being organized, that immigrants pose a danger and a threat to U.S. communities and that it was being sanctioned by the federal government.
- "You are reiterating the points of mass shooters in their manifestos," Hogg yelled at Biggs.
- "Guess what? Those guns are coming from the United States of America. They aren't coming from Mexico," he added, referring to guns used in mass shootings.
- After Hoggs was escorted out of the committee room, Biggs suggested that he had staged "an insurrection" by interrupting an official proceeding.
The big picture: The bill, which may pass the House but is unlikely to pass the Senate, would ban semiautomatic rifles, pistols and shotguns that have certain magazine capacities and other attachments.
- The bill comes after at least four gunmen used semiautomatic, AR-15-style rifles to kill a combined 42 people in mass shootings in the last two months, including 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, last month.
- President Biden, who supports a federal assault weapons ban, signed the most significant federal gun legislation in nearly three decades into law last month after it received bipartisan support in Congress.
- It included enhanced background checks for those under 21, funding for mental health and school safety, incentives for states to implement "red flag" laws and limits on the "boyfriend loophole."
Go deeper: How Highland Park shooter Robert Crimo legally bought his guns
