Democratic Senator Will Introduce New Assault Weapons Ban In January

Feinstein says she believes Obama will support it.

WASHINGTON — Democratic Senator Diane Feinstein said Sunday that she will introduce a new ban on assault weapons when the new Congress convenes next year, and she expects President Barack Obama to support it.

Appearing on Meet The Press in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that killed 26 on Friday, Feinstein, who sponsored the first federal ban on assault weapons which expired in 2004, said she is ready to push to reinstate it.

“It’s being done with care, it will be ready on the first day, I’ll be announcing House authors, and we’ll be prepared to go — and I hope the nation will be prepared to help,” she said.

Asked whether Obama will speak out in favor of it, Feinstein said, “I believe he will.”

Obama supported reinstating the ban in his 2008 campaign, but invested little political capital in it. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Friday that the ban “remain[s] a commitment of his,” but administration officials have been mum on the type of “meaningful action” Obama will propose in response to the mass shooting.