Third Way Mourns the Passing of Senator Dianne Feinstein

WASHINGTON— Third Way released the following statement from Jim Kessler, Executive Vice President for Policy:

"Thirty years ago, on a November day in 1993, the United States Senate passed an amendment by Dianne Feinstein to ban assault weapons. She faced down brutal opposition from the National Rifle Association and belittling from gun rights, NRA-backed Senate colleagues about how this lady from San Francisco knew nothing about guns. “I know a little about what firearms can do,” she said on the Senate floor, reminding them of the political assassinations that made her mayor of San Francisco.

"Senator Dianne Feinstein was a great, centrist Democratic Senator. She was principled, thoughtful, and tough. And she was one of America’s heroes on guns at a time when the issue was even politically risky in California. In our previous incarnation of Americans for Gun Safety, she asked our new organization to lead the effort to extend the Assault Weapons Ban beyond its 10-year expiration. We worked with Sen. Feinstein and her team closely and through her leadership succeeded in passing the extension through the Senate. But the House, then under Republican rule, would not budge. She never stopped fighting for the assault weapons ban and neither will we.

"Third Way mourns the passing of Senator Dianne Feinstein. We thank her for her decades of service, her willingness to stand strong in the face of opposition, and for the many times we got to work with her and her magnificent staff through the years. Rest in strength."