Many House Democrats had been pushing for an assault weapons ban before the upcoming August recess. After the “success” of a bipartisan gun reform bill, the Democrats decided to double-down and push for stronger legislation guaranteed to get no GOP support.

But, hopes for that bill even coming up for a vote died on Wednesday, much to the chagrin of many of the louder voices in the Democratic caucus. Their demands were heard, however, as the bill appears to be revived and scheduled for a vote later today.

Stephen Gutowski at The Reload has more.

The turnaround came after progressives, members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and moderates inside the Democratic party agreed to delay a vote on a police funding bill and move forward on the ban. Democratic leadership had planned to package the two initiatives together as a compromise package between the factions. However, CBC and progressive members refused to consider the police funding bill.

Now, the House will move forward with just the vote on the assault weapons ban while Democrats continue to negotiate over the police funding effort.

“Today, our Democratic Majority will take up and pass the Assault Weapons Ban legislation: a crucial step in our ongoing fight against the deadly epidemic of gun violence in our nation,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said in a message to members.

The passage of the ban would provide more liberal members of the Democratic caucus with another messaging win going into the midterm elections. It would also likely hurt members in more moderate districts, especially given the falling popularity of banning so-called assault weapons over the past few years.

According to Gutowski, the legislation would “ban future sales of semi-automatic rifles and shotguns that are equipped with one or more features such as a barrel shroud, flash suppressor, or pistol grip.” It also specifically mentions certain guns by name, guns that Democrats have called “weapons of war” like the AR-15 and AK-47.

Procedural voting is already underway.

This procedural vote has been open for an hour on the House floor, as Democrats try to figure out if they will vote today on both assault weapons and a policing package. Summer break starts whenever today's session ends. pic.twitter.com/7utX1RF8qu

— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) July 29, 2022

Originally, the bill would have been scheduled for after the August recess, but passing the bill ahead of time allows for Democrats in need of another issue to run on a chance to tout it at town hall meetings and on the campaign trail during the recess – valuable time for Democrats ahead of this midterm year.

But, as Gutowski points out, such legislation could end up hurting Democrats in moderate and swing districts. Polling on the matter is iffy, at best. While most Americans say they favor stricter gun control, stricter policies like those mentioned in this bill and espoused by Democrats tend to poll much lower. The Democrats could be risking more seats trying to appease their loudest voices.

With a four-vote majority, Pelosi may need help from Republicans to get the bill over the line. However, it’s also very likely that Pelosi wouldn’t be bringing the bill up for a vote if she doesn’t already have the numbers to pass it.