US 'assault rifle' ban unlikely after Maine shooting, despite Congressman's shift

The latest mass shooting in the United States, which killed 18 people in Maine, prompted U.S. Representative Jared Golden, whose constituents died in the massacre, to reverse his opposition to a ban on assault-style weapons.

But his change of heart does not change the equation in Washington, where President Joe Biden's push to reinstate a ban of such guns has been a non-starter for Republicans who control the House of Representatives and back gun rights.

Golden, a conservative Democrat who represents a district that supported then-President Donald Trump in the 2020 election, on Thursday said he had opposed a ban out of "false confidence" that his community was above such violence.