cracked butt
September 15, 2004, 09:30 PM
Editorial: Renew weapons law
From the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Sept. 14, 2004
The powerful gun lobby fights to make as weak as possible the rare firearm regulation that gets by that interest group - all the better to claim later that the measure is ineffective. The National Rifle Association and its like-minded compatriots followed that familiar script with the federal law to ban military-style, semiautomatic weapons.
Advertisement
Thanks to the lobby, the 10-year-old ban featured gaping holes and an expiration date, which came this week. The Republican Congress refused even to bring up renewal of the ban for debate and a vote. President Bush says he backs the law - as do most Americans, according to opinion polls - but he lifted not a finger to keep it from lapsing.
Foes of gun control are quick to note that the ban didn't stop legal trafficking in semiautomatic assault weapons - an outcome, however, that reflects their success in keeping the ban anemic. Their conclusion - that the law should be scrapped - is wrong. Rather, the law should be strengthened.
The law prohibited the manufacture, sale or possession of 19 firearms by name, as well as semiautomatic weapons with certain features. It also barred the sale or possession of ammunition feeding devices that could hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
The evasions were predictable. Crafty manufacturers renamed their weapons and redesigned them cosmetically. The law is so weak that the Violence Policy Center, which backs reasonable gun regulations, estimates that more than 1 million assault weapons have been manufactured since the ban's passage in 1994.
And that's just the half of it. A grandfather clause exempted from the ban weapons and ammunition feeders made before it went into effect. So guess how gun makers ensured a ready supply of large magazine clips and other large feeding devices during the course of the ban. Right. They overproduced in the days before the prohibition began.
A more effective law wouldn't permit such shenanigans. Congress ought to pass such a law.
No, assault weapons aren't the most popular firearms among crooks; handguns are. But assault weapons are popular with mass murderers and cop killers. The Violence Policy Center's analysis of FBI data found that an assault weapon felled one of every five American law enforcement officers (41 of 211) slain in the line of duty from 1998 through 2001.
Congress should plug the gaping holes in the expired law and renew it. Bush should lead the way
http://www.jsonline.com/news/editorials/sep04/258807.asp
From the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Sept. 14, 2004
The powerful gun lobby fights to make as weak as possible the rare firearm regulation that gets by that interest group - all the better to claim later that the measure is ineffective. The National Rifle Association and its like-minded compatriots followed that familiar script with the federal law to ban military-style, semiautomatic weapons.
Advertisement
Thanks to the lobby, the 10-year-old ban featured gaping holes and an expiration date, which came this week. The Republican Congress refused even to bring up renewal of the ban for debate and a vote. President Bush says he backs the law - as do most Americans, according to opinion polls - but he lifted not a finger to keep it from lapsing.
Foes of gun control are quick to note that the ban didn't stop legal trafficking in semiautomatic assault weapons - an outcome, however, that reflects their success in keeping the ban anemic. Their conclusion - that the law should be scrapped - is wrong. Rather, the law should be strengthened.
The law prohibited the manufacture, sale or possession of 19 firearms by name, as well as semiautomatic weapons with certain features. It also barred the sale or possession of ammunition feeding devices that could hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
The evasions were predictable. Crafty manufacturers renamed their weapons and redesigned them cosmetically. The law is so weak that the Violence Policy Center, which backs reasonable gun regulations, estimates that more than 1 million assault weapons have been manufactured since the ban's passage in 1994.
And that's just the half of it. A grandfather clause exempted from the ban weapons and ammunition feeders made before it went into effect. So guess how gun makers ensured a ready supply of large magazine clips and other large feeding devices during the course of the ban. Right. They overproduced in the days before the prohibition began.
A more effective law wouldn't permit such shenanigans. Congress ought to pass such a law.
No, assault weapons aren't the most popular firearms among crooks; handguns are. But assault weapons are popular with mass murderers and cop killers. The Violence Policy Center's analysis of FBI data found that an assault weapon felled one of every five American law enforcement officers (41 of 211) slain in the line of duty from 1998 through 2001.
Congress should plug the gaping holes in the expired law and renew it. Bush should lead the way
http://www.jsonline.com/news/editorials/sep04/258807.asp