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High-capacity magazines get new scrutiny as Congress returns

FILE - In this April 10, 2013, file photo, a stag arms AR-15 rifle with 30 round, left, and 10 round magazines is displayed in New Britain, Conn. High-capacity magazines have been a common denominator in several mass killings in recent years, and lawmakers are making a renewed push to ban them. Nine states have passed laws restricting magazine capacity to 10 to 15 bullets, and the Democratic-led Congress is returning early from its summer recess this week to consider a similar ban at the federal level. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
FILE - In this April 10, 2013, file photo, a stag arms AR-15 rifle with 30 round, left, and 10 round magazines is displayed in New Britain, Conn. High-capacity magazines have been a common denominator in several mass killings in recent years, and lawmakers are making a renewed push to ban them. Nine states have passed laws restricting magazine capacity to 10 to 15 bullets, and the Democratic-led Congress is returning early from its summer recess this week to consider a similar ban at the federal level. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File) FILE - In this April 10, 2013, file photo, a stag arms AR-15 rifle with 30 round, left, and 10 round magazines is displayed in New Britain, Conn. High-capacity magazines have been a common denominator in several mass killings in recent years, and lawmakers are making a renewed push to ban them. Nine states have passed laws restricting magazine capacity to 10 to 15 bullets, and the Democratic-led Congress is returning early from its summer recess this week to consider a similar ban at the federal level. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

By Associated Press 6 min read

SEATTLE – Lawmakers around the country are making a renewed push to ban high-capacity magazines that gunmen have used in many recent massacres, allowing them to inflict mass casualties at a startling rate before police can stop the carnage.

Nine states have passed laws restricting magazine capacity to 10 to 15 bullets, and the Democratic-led U.S. House plans to consider a similar ban at the federal level in the coming weeks.

In arguing for the bans, politicians, experts and gun-control advocates point out that in the time it takes for a driver to wait through a stop light, a shooter with a 100-round magazine can kill and injure dozens of people.

The man who opened fire in Dayton, Ohio, last month killed nine people and injured 27 others in only 30 seconds, in part because of the 100-bullet drum attached to his rifle. It only took 85 seconds for a gunman to empty several 30-round magazines at an IHOP in Carson City, Nevada, killing four people and injuring 14 in 2011.

Authorities have not released any information on the accessories the gunman in Odessa, Texas, used over the weekend when he opened fire on police and bystanders with an AR-style weapon.