A recent study by Johns Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health found no evidence that an “assault weapon” ban would reduce mass shootings.

Breitbart points out that the study “did not find an independent association between assault weapon bans and the incidence of fatal mass shootings.”

The study claimed licensing requirements like those in Connecticut help reduce mass shootings, however, their research did not include the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, where 26 were killed.

“In other words,” writes AWR Hawkins of Breitbart, “a study which claims licensing reduces instances of mass shootings omitted one of the most often cited mass shootings in U.S. history, even though that shooting occurred in a licensing state.”

The criteria for licensing laws also enabled the Johns Hopkins study to bypass Illinois, which allowed them to “sidestep the never ending gun crime of Chicago,” writes Hawkins.

Yesterday, Virginia’s highly contested assault weapons ban failed in the Senate after Democrats bucked their own party and voted to table the measure which would have confiscated commonly owned guns and accessories from law abiding citizens.

Democratic delegate Mark Levine, who sponsored the bill, claims it would “save lives.”

The bill has been shelved for a year, and Democrats are likely to resurrect the issue come 2021.