Democratic presidential contender Kamala Harris will expand her crack down on guns Wednesday with a proposal to ban the importation of AR-15-style assault weapons - the kind mostly commonly used in mass shootings.

Her move comes three weeks after she laid out her gun-control plan and as her campaign struggles to regain momentum after former Vice President Joe Biden entered the Democratic presidential primary.

At her town hall meeting in Nashua, N.H., 'Harris will say that she will use her authority as president to ban the importation of all AR-15-style assault weapons by executive action,' a senior campaign official said.

Kamala Harris will proposal to ban the importation of AR-15-style assault weapons - the kind mostly commonly used in mass shootings

The senator would use the executive power of the presidency, which means she could by-pass a fight in Congress, where the National Rifle Association has several supporters.

The NRA, which is dealing with the fallout from revelations of CEO Wayne LePierre's lavish spending, has said Harris 'appears intent on using the failed 2008 and 2016 presidential candidate's gun control playbook.'

Harris has competition when it comes to gun control.

Cory Booker, also seeking the 2020 nomination, proposed a comprehensive plan that includes an assault weapons ban and a gun licensing program.

The senator from California said there are several good ideas for gun control out there but Congress is holding up any action.

'On this issue of the need for gun safety laws, we're not at any loss for good ideas,' Harris told CNN's 'State of the Union' on Sunday. 'People have been having good ideas for decades on this issue. What we're at a loss is for people in Congress to have the courage to do something.'

'If, by my 100th day in office when elected president of the United States, the United States Congress fails to put a bill on my desk to sign with all of the good ideas or any of the good ideas that I'm prepared to take executive action because that's what's needed,' she added.

Harris is running against 22 other Democrats for the party's nomination to challenge President Donald Trump in the general election next year.

Assault weapons is often a catch-all term used by critics to describe semi-automatic rifles and other high-capacity fire arms.

These type of guns have been used in several recent mass shootings.

There are roughly 15-20 million assault weapons currently in circulation in the U.S., more than 4 million of which have been imported, according to Harris' campaign.

In Harris' previous proposal on gun control, she offered Congress 100 days to pass legislation such as a universal background checks bill or a renewal of the ban on assault weapons, before using presidential executive power to act on the issue.

Harris said she would use executive power to require sellers of five or more weapons a year to run background checks for all gun sales; revoke the license of gun makers and dealers who break the law; reverse a move by Trump to redefine the term 'fugitive from justice' that allowed gun purchases by people with outstanding arrest warrants; and close the boyfriend loophole.