Rep. Chris Jacobs, R-Orchard Park, broke with party orthodoxy last week by favoring a ban on assault weapons such as the AR-15 that was used in massacres in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas. He also rejected what he called the "vile and disgusting" replacement theory.
News staff photographer
Congressman Chris Jacobs announces that he will not run for re-election in front of Old County Hall in Buffalo Friday, June 3, 2022.
WASHINGTON – A week after becoming a rare Republican supporter of banning assault weapons, Rep. Chris Jacobs on Friday withdrew from the race for Congress in a conservative district stretching from suburban Buffalo to Chemung County – bowing to pressure from party leaders and gun rights activists and unleashing what could be a fervent battle to replace him as the GOP nominee.
Rep. Chris Jacobs of Orchard Park on Friday made a surprising about-face on gun control issues, becoming perhaps the first congressional Republican to call for an assault weapons ban in the wake of the recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas.
Rep. Chris Jacobs’ new willingness to support certain gun control legislation has led to a scramble for other Republicans to challenge him in August's primary.
One of those likely contenders: State Republican Party Chairman Nicholas Langworthy.
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Rep. Chris Jacobs, R-Orchard Park, broke with party orthodoxy last week by favoring a ban on assault weapons such as the AR-15 that was used in massacres in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas. He also rejected what he called the "vile and disgusting" replacement theory.
