Dianne Feinstein has been the U.S. Senate's most determined advocate of banning military-style assault weapons since she arrived at the Capitol in 1993, the year of the 101 California St. law-office massacre that left eight victims dead in San Francisco in just four minutes.

And despite last year's losing effort to extend the original 1994 federal assault-weapons ban she sponsored, Feinstein isn't about to give up the struggle.

For the second consecutive year, Feinstein has introduced legislation to revive the assault-weapons ban that expired in September 2004 after 10 years as law. When announcing the newest extension bill, Feinstein spoke of the two Los Angeles city workers killed by a co-worker with an AK-47 rifle last month.

"Once again, we've seen the tragic consequence of the ready availability of assault weapons throughout our society," she said.

Last March, Feinstein's ban extension was approved as an amendment to a bill shielding gun manufacturers from lawsuits over criminal uses of their weapons, a protection eagerly sought by the entire spectrum of gun-rights supporters. But the National Rifle Association's congressional allies were so adamantly opposed to any continuation of the assault-weapons ban that they voted down the entire gun-maker shield bill when it reached the Senate floor.

This year, Feinstein's bill banning assault weapons starts out with solidly bipartisan co-sponsorship: Republican Sens. John Warner of Virginia and Mike DeWine of Ohio, plus senior New York Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer.

It is obvious that passing any assault-weapons ban faces even tougher odds in 2005 than last year. The Senate's GOP majority has increased by four, with seven new Republican senators, most from passionately pro-gun rural states.

And even if an assault-weapons ban somehow gets through the Senate, it faces a virtually certain death in the House of Representatives, where Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., promises to block any ban renewal from even coming to a vote.

Still, passage of the 1994 federal assault-weapons ban was a formidable bipartisan exercise by itself. Feinstein cut deals with congressmen of every political ideology to push it through.

Predominantly urban states such as California absolutely do not want assault weapons so easily available. We laud Feinstein for continuing to fight against long odds for a renewed ban on these deadly weapons that cause so much tragedy across the United States, and we're hoping there might be a miracle this time around.