CeaseFire MD: Assault Weapons Set to Flood US Market

[Harry Tuttle]

Assault Weapons Set to Flood US Market
9/13/2004


Press Release
CeaseFire Maryland
3000 Chestnut Avenue, Suite 203
Baltimore, MD 21211
www.ceasefiremd.org

Contact:
Leah Barrett
Phone: 240-535-5083

CeaseFire MD asks: Are Assault Weapons part of Bush's promise of a "Safer World'?

Baltimore, MD - In press conferences today in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties, CeaseFire Maryland blamed Bush for failing to deliver on his promise to renew the 1994 federal assault weapons ban that expires at midnight. Leah Barrett, Executive Director, said: "Candidate Bush promised to be a compassionate conservative and most recently promised to create a safer world. Well, Mr. President, there's nothing compassionate or safe about an AK-47. At a time when homeland security should be paramount, letting the ban lapse is a profound failure of leadership." She was joined by Congressman Chris Van Hollen, Attorney General Joe Curran, Vicki Buchanan Snider and Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger, all who roundly condemned the demise of the ten-year-old ban. Barrett said: "Despite its flaws, the 1994 law was the deathblow to some popular assault weapons like the Calico (100 round magazine) and the Tech 9 by Intratec. Now, thanks to Bush, Calico's and Tech 9's will be back on the market."

"The Assault Weapons Ban is not a partisan issue; it's a public safety issue," stated Senator Rob Garagiola (D-Montgomery), Senate sponsor of the Maryland Assault Weapons Ban Act during the 2004 General Assembly session. "I support hunting, but you do not need an Uzi to hunt. These weapons are the civilian versions of military weapons designed to kill people. They do not belong on our streets."

Barrett said that deer in Maryland will be better protected than people on September 14th since firearms used for deer hunting may not have an ammunition clip loaded with more than 8 cartridges or bullets. "Assault weapons accept high capacity clips of anywhere from 10 to 100 rounds and can fire off hundreds of rounds per minute. Imported clips of more than ten rounds have always been available but tomorrow, domestically produced ones also will be."

That's why law enforcement is solidly behind the ban. Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger said, "My greatest fear is that the minute the ban expires, the bad guys will start re-arming themselves."

Barrett predicted there will be a huge gun buying frenzy on Tuesday for two reasons: "Gun owners who fear a Kerry victory or who have always wanted a 'real' pre-ban assault gun will flood stores before a Kerry Administration could enact a tougher law. Also, autumn is the start of the gun-buying season and gun-makers, distributors and dealers will offer bargains to push the guns through the commerce chain."

Delegate Neil Quinter (D-Dist 13), the lead House sponsor of the Maryland Assault Weapons Act in the 2004 General Assembly said: "The Republican Congress' refusal to even allow a vote on the expiring assault weapons ban, in the face of President Bush's stated and supposed support for the ban, is criminal. Study after study has proven that the assault weapons ban has been effective in reducing gun murders and saving lives, especially those of police officers. With the federal assault weapons ban expiring, it's more important than ever that we get a state assault weapons ban in place here in Maryland, so that our police, children, and communities don't have to face a flood of AK-47s and Streetsweepers coming from our own local gunshops."

Date of Release: September 13, 2004



This article is online at http://www.jointogether.org/z/0,2522,574591,00.html

 

[bigjoegood1]

It's been over 15 hours

and I have yet to see a single assault weapon on the streets and I live in PG County. Most blissninnies don't even know that the expiring ban has nothing to do with machine guns as the antis would like for them to believe. Let the AR shopping begin.

 

[Harry Tuttle]

a message from a gunny:

Frankly, without the snide, condescending, pushy, whiney, ill organized leadership of Leah Barrett we in Maryland might now be under the yoke of yet another stupid gun law. We owe her and should be thankful they did not have competent leadership.

 

[Norton]

Well...Leah Barrett/Gail Gunn is a stereotype of the screaming blissninny gun grabber. She can't control herself for more than 5 minutes without going on a hysterical "for the children" rant.

 

[SB88LX]

Ugh, let me know how I can help with our effort in maryland

 

[fistful]

Did AWB ban Uzi's, Tec-9's and AK-47's?

"I support hunting, but you do not need an Uzi to hunt. These weapons are the civilian versions of military weapons designed to kill people. They do not belong on our streets." Barrett said that deer in Maryland will be better protected than people on September 14th since firearms used for deer hunting may not have an ammunition clip loaded with more than 8 cartridges or bullets.

NO, MORON, YOU NEED AN UZI TO KILL PEOPLE...that is, in some situations. Gotta love how some people don't mind the pre-meditated slaughter of innocent animals, but are horrified that we would buy weapons INTENDED for use against criminals or foreign armies. Or maybe this guy would support hunting people, so long as there were licenses, tags, game wardens and so on. BTW, I don't oppose the slaughter of animals - I like to eat.

Speaking of Uzi's and Tec-9's, though, the hourly news byte on my local talk station said that Uzi's, Tec-9's and AK-47's will now be available to the general public. Is that a correct understanding of the law?

The Republican Congress' refusal to even allow a vote on the expiring assault weapons ban, in the face of President Bush's stated and supposed support for the ban, is criminal. Study after study has proven that the assault weapons ban has been effective in reducing gun murders and saving lives, especially those of police officers.

Guess we'll have to impeach all those congressmen then. What studies is he talking about?

 

[nico]

Speaking of Uzi's and Tec-9's, though, the hourly news byte on my local talk station said that Uzi's, Tec-9's and AK-47's will now be available to the general public. Is that a correct understanding of the law?

if they're semi-auto. There are semi-auto versions of all of them (and don't forget the mac 11). the problem is the name similarity makes it easy to confuse the uneducated masses.

 

[priv8ter]

Well...

You know, in one way, they might be right. At least 20% of the guys I work with have said, 'You know, now that they're legal, I'm going to go get myself an assault weapon'.

Now...on the one hand, I think it's great that some of these non-gunnies are going to go buy AR-15 wanna-be's, because...they will find out how much fun shooting is, and that joy will become infectous, and they will be on our side.

But, on the other hand...it's also perpetuating the myth that today, you can buy something fundamentally different from what you could buy last Wednesday.

greg

 

[Norton]

Gun banners are the best gun salesmen out there........

 

[GSB]

Assault Weapons Set to Flood US Market

I've got the nets stretched across the street since early this morning. I must have netted a thousand of the things. I can barely keep the nets clear of them.

 

[K-Romulus]

Hmmmm

if a loser .org issues a press release, and no one cares to read it,
is it still blather?

 

[RM]

Count me in on the gun buying frenzy!!

P.S. Maryland residents may be interested in viewing my recent post here in legal and political, "I'm not from California, but feel my pain."

 

[MikeK]

I've got the nets stretched across the street since early this morning. I must have netted a thousand of the things. I can barely keep the nets clear of them.

What kind of nets are you using? I've only been able to snag two. I live in Montgomery county so the streets may not be stocked as well. Any particular bait? (green tip, standard cap mags, etc.) Any suggestions appreciated. If I can snag a few more I'll send some to Leah.

 

[F=ma]

Barrett said that deer in Maryland will be better protected than people on September 14th since firearms used for deer hunting may not have an ammunition clip loaded with more than 8 cartridges or bullets.

Perhaps Barrett should strap on a set of antlers and hit the woods opening day.

 

[nico]

What kind of nets are you using? I've only been able to snag two. I live in Montgomery county so the streets may not be stocked as well. Any particular bait? (green tip, standard cap mags, etc.) Any suggestions appreciated. If I can snag a few more I'll send some to Leah.

mine are empty
Maybe I'll get the fly rod out this weekend and see if I can catch a few.

 

[GSB]

What kind of nets are you using? I've only been able to snag two. I live in Montgomery county so the streets may not be stocked as well.

Well, I am in the South, so we have a good size breeding population. And in all fairness, a lot of the ones I netted were actually post-bans attracted to the bayonet lugs and flash hiders I put out as bait.

 

[Fastlane]

I walked for over an hour in Dayton last night trying to find all of the assault weapons that was going to flood the streets. I could not even find one. I collect older S&W and can't afford anything else. I was sure hoping to find a free assault weapon just lying around.

 

[Harry Tuttle]

Assault weapons ban backers dread lapse

by Sean R. Sedam
Staff Writer
Sep. 10, 2004


Sen. Robert J. Garagiola believes an assault weapons ban is something everyone should agree on.

Law enforcement supports it. Democrats, Republicans and independent voters support it, according to a statewide survey. And lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in the U.S. Senate have voted in support of an extension of the 10-year-old federal ban, which expires at midnight Monday.

"If Republican senators can support this, President Bush needs to step forward," Garagiola said.

That is unlikely to happen before the federal law expires, state officials said Thursday, meaning that Maryland will be left with laws that ban assault pistols and regulate the sale of certain assault weapons, but it will not ban assault rifles and their copycat knockoffs.

So why was a bill banning assault weapons unable to make it to the floor of the state Senate this year?

"In some areas the senators aren't hearing what the voters were saying and legislators weren't hearing what the voters were saying," said Garagiola (D-Dist. 15) of Germantown.

Garagiola and Del. Neil F. Quinter (D-Dist. 13) of Columbia sponsored the legislation in response to the 2002 sniper attacks in the Washington, D.C., area. Ten people were killed, including six from Montgomery County.

Sen. John A. Giannetti Jr. (D-Dist. 21) of Laurel has been roundly criticized for his swing vote in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee that killed the bill in April. The committee rejected it in a 6-5 vote.

"I can't see anyone in Prince George's County, which has the highest rate of gun violence in the state next to Baltimore city, opposing a ban on military-style assault weapons," said Leah G. Barrett, executive director of CeaseFire Maryland.

Barrett's group will join lawmakers, police officials, doctors and families of victims of gun violence -- including the sister of James "Sonny" Buchanan, one of the first sniper victims -- to mark the demise of the federal ban at two news conferences on Monday.

The first will be held at 10 a.m. at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, which treated the last sniper victim, Ride On bus driver Conrad E. Johnson. The second is set for 1 p.m. at the Open Center in Giannetti's hometown of Laurel.

That is no coincidence, Barrett said. In March, CeaseFire Maryland sent voters in Giannetti's district a letter, signed by Laurel Police Chief David T. Moore and Montgomery County Police Chief J. Thomas Manger among others, noting Giannetti's vote against the ban.

The state ban would have made it illegal to transport, sell or possess 45 types of assault weapons. Fifteen semiautomatic pistols are already banned in Maryland and the purchases of 45 additional assault weapons require a seven-day waiting period and background check. The federal ban applies to 19 semiautomatic weapons.

Manger, like his predecessor, Charles A. Moose, supports an extension of the federal ban.

"These weapons are not the kind used for hunting or any kind of sport," he said. "They have one purpose, and that's to kill a lot of people real quickly."

The federal law was effective, he said.

"Before 1994, when the assault weapons ban went into place, about 5 percent of crimes in this country involving firearms involved assault weapons," he said. "After the law, that decreased to 1.6 percent."

It might not seem like much, Manger said, but for law enforcement officers that drop could mean "thousands of fewer times a cop faces someone with an assault weapon."

Moore said he has not yet spoken to Giannetti about the state ban.

Giannetti defended his decision. The state must draw the line in order to protect the rights of gun owners, he said: "The bill went too far. The bill was extraordinarily broad."

Giannetti said he took the brunt of the criticism because he was originally undecided on the vote.

Giannetti said he spent two weeks talking to law enforcement officials and Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R), who assured Giannetti that he would veto the bill.

Ehrlich spokeswoman Shareese N. DeLeaver said the governor has "no official position" on an assault weapons ban, but supports Virginia's Project Exile, which provides mandatory sentences for gun crimes but does not ban specific weapons.

A bill to create a similar program in Maryland failed last year.

"The governor's position is stiff penalties for criminals with guns," DeLeaver said.

But Ehrlich is standing in the way of an assault weapons ban, Quinter said.

"The governor has worked hard against it and the governor's work against it turned Senator Giannetti against it," he said.

With Giannetti blocking the ban in committee, the governor did not have to veto it, Quinter said.

"We ban assault pistols, we should be banning assault rifles," said Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D). "We don't need them in our community. We saw the damage these rifles can do during the sniper shooting. We don't need them around."

A survey of more than 800 registered voters shows that it may be, at least on its face.

The survey, conducted in February for CeaseFire Maryland by Gonzales Research and Marketing Strategies of Annapolis, found that 74 percent of registered Maryland voters, regardless of party affiliation, favor legislators passing a law banning assault weapons in Maryland.

Citing that support, Garagiola and Quinter said they will try again next year.

While CeaseFire Maryland has compiled a list of 70 Maryland law enforcement officials who support a strengthened assault weapons ban, both sides of the debate say the specifics of a bill will be crucial.

Giannetti pointed out that both the state police and the state Fraternal Order of Police opposed the bill as too broad. "I feel like I stand with the police," he said.

State police spokesman Maj. Greg Shipley said Thursday, "It was felt that [a ban] was not needed at this time."

Crafting a state ban requires striking a "balance" between protecting police officers and the public and considering gun owners' rights, Laurel's Moore said. "We have to make sure we get it right so that everyone is in agreement in it," he said.


http://www.gazette.net/200437/weekend/a_section/235293-1.html

 

[GSB]

Crafting a state ban requires striking a "balance" between protecting police officers and the public and considering gun owners' rights, Laurel's Moore said. "We have to make sure we get it right so that everyone is in agreement in it," he said.

Sort of like how the CFR "struck a balance" between the politicians' desire not to be criticized by the public and the Constitution of the United States.

 

[Partisan Ranger]

Praise G_d this thing is dead.

The main reason I opposed it, though I own not one rifle, is this: The response of the anti-gunners to the law's ineffectiveness was to....that's right!.....demand a MORE restrictive law.

They wanted to ban yet MORE guns. Now any gun owner who doesn't oppose this law is either ignorant or a fool. If we don't stop laws like the AWB now, in 20 years we'll be lucky if Glocks and Sigs are still legal.

Anti-gun extremist scum never sleep knowing that one person has the ability to defend him or herself from criminals.

 

[fistful]

"These weapons are not the kind used for hunting or any kind of sport," he said. "They have one purpose, and that's to kill a lot of people real quickly."

Yes, that's why the people, the militia, ought to have them.

They are right about one thing, though, those DC "snipers" obviously couldn't have shot people from the trunk of the car with a thirty-thirty or a single shot. Only an assault rifle can do that.

 

[Bobarino]

"My greatest fear is that the minute the ban expires, the bad guys will start re-arming themselves."


uuummmmm, can someone please tell me exactly when the bad guys DISarmed themselves? i was unaware that they did.

Bobby

 

[Spot77]

Citing that support, Garagiola and Quinter said they will try again next year

So is it too soon to start smacking these idiots' lies right into the dirt?

 

[Harry Tuttle]

i would think if we flooded every town meeting they had with angry gunnies they might sing a different tune

 

[Spot77]

Fortunately my "town meetings" are attended by people like Don Dwyer, Phil Jimeno, Joan Cadden and John Leopold, all are very dedicated to gun rights and the 2nd amendment.


Keep us informed of Monkey County events; I'd like to attend a few