I applaud Lois Capps’ courageous support of Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s assault weapons ban bill. The operative adjective for her support should be “sensible,” but the opposition to this bill is not sensible and is vindictive. Individuals who eschew more powerful and accurate rifles to bring down their game and prefer instead to assault their prey may continue to do so, as long as they legally possess the weapons listed in the bill before its enactment.

If Sen. Feinstein’s bill were already in effect, it would have done nothing to stop the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary. Nevertheless, a Justice Department study found that Sen. Feinstein’s previous gun law was responsible for a6.7 percent decline in total gun murders, and a University of Pennsylvania study on gun violence documented a more than two-thirds reduction in the use of assault weapons over the life of the law.

Sen. Feinstein’s bill is a sensible step in the direction of reducing the number of people killed and maimed by guns in this country.