While the debate about “Saturday Night Specials” isn’t nearly as prevalent today, classism still runs rampant in the movement for gun control. In the recent hearing in the House Judiciary Committee on H.R. 8 bill, various representatives expressed support for efforts that increase the cost of owning a firearm. Rep. Cedric Richmond (D., La.), himself a gun owner, recalled the effects of the assault weapons ban, saying that the ban made the cost of a particular firearm “go up from $400 to $1,500.” He calls this increased financial barrier a “good thing” because it “allowed for a cooling time.” This cooling time, he explains, would help prevent someone with violent tendencies from purchasing a firearm quickly and using it to commit an act of violence.