Assault Weapons Ban Round Up
Per this:
Gun control hasn’t emerged as a leading issue in the 2004 presidential race, but that is likely to change as Democratic California Sen. Dianne Feinstein intensifies her effort to win renewal of the decade-old assault weapons ban, which expires in September.
Feinstein’s bid should be as tightly contested and bitterly fought as it was 10 years ago. The ban will be part of a package of firearms legislation before Congress that includes a gun industry proposal to win an exemption from the type of liability lawsuits filed by San Francisco and other cities across the country.
The gun control issue will surface in the middle of the campaigns for the White House and Congress. Many Republicans oppose renewal of the assault weapons ban, which House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, promises will never even come up for a floor vote in the lower house. However, President Bush has said he will sign a renewal, if it makes it to his desk.
Some congressional Democrats are uneasy about the coming fight. Many blame the party’s loss of House control in 1994 on the assault weapons vote of that year and President Bill Clinton’s support for the law. Al Gore’s pro-gun- control positions may have cost him the electoral votes of West Virginia and New Hampshire in 2000 — along with the presidency.
One bit of bad news is that the bill is in the works. Two bits of good news: DeLay has said it’s never coming for a vote; and that the Democrats are uneasy about it.
Shockingly, a reporter describes the ban correctly:
The 1994 Federal Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, set to expire in September, outlawed assault rifles with certain features, including attached grenade launchers and bayonet mounts. But through what Pelosi called “deadly loopholes,” rifle manufacturers were able to continue making very similar “post-ban” guns by removing those features and changing the guns’ names.
Also, the above article addresses supposed post ban assault rifles use in shooting sports.
And even gun controllers are admitting that the ban is pointless:
NYAGV members say the current assault ban does not go far enough, while gun enthusiasts at the gun show believe law-abiding citizens should be allowed to purchase certain assault weapons.
And the Governor of Maryland opposes the proposed state ban on assault weapons:
“MY THOUGHTS have always been to direct resources, time, attention and money to bad guys who have illegal guns and obviously the guns that cause crime,” Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) said Tuesday, explaining his opposition to a ban on the sale of assault-style weapons. “We devote our time, money and resources to things that work, not things that are politically correct.” His point is that “bad guys” aren’t using assault weapons as often as they used to. But at least one reason for that trend is a federal ban on 19 types of such weapons that is due to expire Sept. 13. That deadline — rather than political correctness — has stirred responsible Maryland legislators to support a measure that would expand the definition and number of assault-weapon models banned in Maryland.
