Washington – While Congress prepares to debate renewing the federal assault-weapons ban, several states and cities already are pursuing bans of their own in the wake of high-profile mass shootings this year.

At least five states, including Georgia and Vermont, are pressing ahead with new legislation. Other states, like Maryland, are taking a closer look at their existing laws and searching for ways to strengthen them.

After the shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., which left 20 students and six educators dead, some of these proposals may stand a better chance of passing than any in Congress, where any gun ban is likely to meet resistance in the Republican-controlled House. But in states like Illinois, gun manufacturers are pushing back, threatening to leave if laws limiting guns are put in place.

In Illinois, the Democrat-led push for new legislation started after the Aurora, Colo., movie theater massacre. Other states began to move following the Newtown shooting.

The following states are looking to beef up their gun laws:

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People dont think this will effect the economy. A multibillion dollar a year business, gone. Manufacturers lose business, as do gun shops and places that sell accessories for guns. This will not just impact the owners but the makers and the sellers and the employees employed by them.