On Guns, Drugs, and National Security, Dianne Feinstein Was Consistently Authoritarian

October 01, 2023

The late California senator always seemed to err on the side of more government power and less individual freedom.

by Jacob Sullum Reason.com

During Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s 2018 confirmation hearing, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D–Calif.) asked him to “reconcile” his conclusion that “assault weapon” bans are unconstitutional with “the hundreds of school shootings using assault weapons that have taken place in recent history.” It was a classic Feinstein moment, combining her steadfast support for arbitrary gun laws with blatant misinformation and a logical non sequitur.

Feinstein, who died Thursday night at age 90, wrote the 1994 federal “assault weapon” ban, which prohibited the importation, manufacture, distribution, and possession of semi-automatic guns that she falsely claimed were uniquely suitable for mass murder. Although the distinctions drawn by that law never made much sense, Feinstein was determined to reinstate the ban after it expired in 2004, proposing a series of new, supposedly improved versions.