House Democrats announced Friday they will consider legislation that would ban certain semi-automatic weapons. 

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., has scheduled markup of the bill for Wednesday. 

The effort comes in the wake of several mass shootings this year, including at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois. Authorities say the gunmen in all three shootings, which killed 38 people in all, used AR-15-style rifles.

“Over the past several decades, our country has witnessed senseless killing after senseless kill and each time one fact has remained remarkably consistent—the weapon of choice for mass slaughter is a high-powered assault weapon,” Nadler said in a statement. “It is beyond frightening and disturbing that a weapon that was designed as a tool of war has found its way into the hands of 18 year olds and onto our streets. Any weapon that allows for the quick and efficient slaughter of children in our schools has no place in our communities.”

The legislation is sponsored by Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., and co-sponsored by 211 other House members. The bill would make it illegal for anyone to “import, sell, manufacture, or transfer” semiautomatic rifles that have military features and can accept a detachable magazine or have a fixed magazine that holds 10 or more rounds of ammunition. 

The proposal also seeks to ban most semiautomatic pistols and shotguns, “bump stocks” that allow semiautomatic rifles to fire faster, and high-capacity feed devices such as magazines, strips and drums that accept more than 10 rounds.

“AR-15 style firearms have become the weapon of choice for shooters looking to kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible and have been used in the deadliest mass shootings in our history, from Sandy Hook to Parkland to Uvalde,” Cicilline said in a statement.

“Protecting the lives and safety of Americans is not at odds with our Second Amendment rights. We cannot rest until we ensure that our kids and families are safe in schools, houses of worship, and everywhere in our communities,” he added.

The bill would not ban the sale, transfer or possession of assault weapons or large-capacity ammunition feeding devices legally owned on the date the law would take effect. It also would not restrict antique guns, manually operated firearms, or hunting or sporting weapons.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a news conference Thursday “there is great support in our caucus for an assault weapons ban.”

“It's about our children,” she said. “More children die from gun violence in each year than cancer, car accidents or anything. How could that be?”

President Joe Biden last month signed a bipartisan gun bill, the first federal gun reform legislation in nearly 30 years. That bill expanded background checks for gun buyers 18 to 21 years old, closed a loophole that allowed some convicted domestic abusers to buy firearms and created financial incentives for states to pass “red flag” laws, among other provisions.

That legislation did not include an assault weapons ban, and it’s unlikely there is enough bipartisan support to pass one now due to broad opposition among Republicans. 

Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, signaled Friday he would oppose Cicilline’s bill.

Like we’ve said now for a long time: They (Democrats) want to get rid of the Second Amendment,” he told Fox Business. “Republicans and conservatives are going to defend your First Amendment liberties, your Second Amendment liberties. We’re going to defend the Constitution.”

Congress passed an assault weapons ban in 1994, but it expired in 2004.

NOTE: This story has been updated to reflect that the legislation is being marked up this week; the measure was introduced in May of last year.