If Democrats want to pass an assault weapons ban, they’ll have to package it with a number of less controversial measures or it will not be passed into law by Congress, according to Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.

“Assault weapons stand alone ban on just gun[s] alone will not in the political reality that we have today will not go anywhere,” Manchin told CNN’s Candy Crowley today.  “It has to be comprehensive, Candy, and that is what I have tried to tell the vice president and I’ve told everybody, it has to be a comprehensive approach.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., are poised to introduce a new assault weapons ban to replace the one that expired in 2004.

“It’s a tighter ban than the previous ban, and it will address high-capacity magazine clips,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said of the coming bill during his appearance on CNN’s State of the Union this morning.

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Manchin, a Democratic senator from of the most conservative (and pro-gun) states in the union, refused to commit to voting for or against an assault weapons ban.

“I don’t own an assault weapon,” he said. “I need to talk to the people that basically think they need those assault weapons. I need to talk to people that go to gun shows don’t believe they need to register. I want to hear from them. Why is it so important you’re protecting that position?”

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has indicated she thinks that a broad package of proposals is the best tactic for passing a new gun control law.

“Pelosi said Democrats are no longer talking about gun control but refer instead to what she calls gun violence prevention — an effort by Democrats and their allies to find a less politically charged term, one that suggests a broader range of approaches beyond simply gun regulation,” The New York Times reported last week.