US assault weapons ban dropped by Senate

President Barack Obama's assault weapons ban lay in tatters last night after being dropped from the Senate gun control bill.

The development followed weeks of sustained lobbying from pro-gun groups, including the National Rifle Association, after December's Newtown massacre.

Despite polls showing most Americans supported the ban, today it has little chance of becoming law. Its sponsor, Senator Dianne Feinstein, claimed the Senate Majority leader Harry Reid had decided it would not form part of the bill.