This Week's Edition:
June 7, 2004
IPGV Editorial
Spin Doesn't Stop Bullets
John Johnson
As you are aware if you have been a regular reader of First Monday and Every Monday, the 1994 federal assault weapons ban will expire on September 13, 2004 unless reauthorized by Congress. Two competing assault weapon bills have been introduced in Congress. H.R. 2038/S.1431 would reauthorize and strengthen the assault weapons ban to meet the original intent of Congress (Reauthorization and Strengthening), whereas H.R.3831/S.2109 would extend the current assault weapons ban in its present form for another 10 years (Straight Reauthorization).
IPGV’s position has been from the beginning and remains that we support, and only support, “a strong and effective assault weapons ban as provided in H.R.2038/S.1431.†Why do we only support reauthorization and strengthening and not straight reauthorization? For the simple reason that the 1994 assault weapons ban is not working as intended by Congress when it passed the ban in 1994.
First of all, the 1994 assault weapons ban was not a “ban†at all. It was intended to be a “freeze.†It attempted to limit the number of assault weapons in the civilian population to 1994 levels by prohibiting the manufacture, possession, and transfer of new semiautomatic assault weapons. It banned 19 specific assault weapons by name, including “copies and duplicates†of such weapons. However, named assault weapons lawfully possessed on September 13, 1994, the day the assault weapons ban took effect, were not covered by the ban and can still be legally possessed and sold.
If the assault weapons ban had worked as intended, then the only assault weapons in the general population today would be the so-called pre-ban assault weapons that were “grandfathered†by the 1994 assault weapons ban.
Has that been the case? Far from it. Almost immediately, gun manufacturers found that they could evade the assault weapons ban by making minor cosmetic modifications to their weapons, renaming them, and marketing them as legal post-ban models. For example, the Colt Match Target .223-caliber semiautomatic assault rifle has the same firing characteristics as the Colt AR15 .223-caliber semiautomatic assault rifle banned by name in the 1994 assault weapons ban. And there are many other examples. A 2003 Autoloaders Buyers Guide lists over 125 different makes and models of AR15-type assault rifles made by more than a dozen U.S. manufacturers. To say AR15s have been banned is perpetuating a hoax.
To the best of my knowledge, virtually every single assault weapon banned by name in the 1994 assault weapons ban (AK-47s, UZIs, AR15s, TEC-DC9s, MAK 10s) is now being sold under another name. The vice president of Bushmaster Firearms, manufacturer of a full product line of AR15-type semiautomatic assault rifles, including the XM15 E2S .223-caliber assault rifle used in the Washington, DC-area sniper shootings in 2002, has said that Bushmaster sales have increased 900 percent, and revenues have increased 10 to 15 times, since the 1994 assault weapons ban was enacted.
It is as if Congress had passed a ban on Sport Utility Vehicles by name (Ford Explorer, Chevy Blazer, Dodge Durango, Honda Element, Toyota Sequoia, and Volkswagen Touareg). But then allowed Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, Honda, Toyota, and Volkswagen to change the wheel rims, chrome trim, and interior and market the vehicle as a post-ban SUV. Most people would say that such a ban is ineffective in getting SUVs off of the streets. I am not kidding folks; this is how ineffective the assault weapons ban has been at banning the manufacturer, possession, and transfer of new assault weapons. By any objective measure of the number of new assault weapons it has banned, the 1994 assault weapons ban has been a total failure.
Given the facts, it is hard to understand why any gun violence prevention group would support a straight reauthorization of the current assault weapons ban in its present form. Unfortunately, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence (formerly Handgun Gun Control) supports the straight reauthorization bill H.R.3831/S.2109.
As previously stated, IPGV does not support a straight reauthorization of the assault weapons ban because it would not reduce the availability of assault weapons to civilians one bit. We consider that simply maintaining the status quo would be a “victory†for gun manufacturers, like Bushmaster, because they could continue to manufacturer and market AR15-type semiautomatic assault rifles to civilians without interruption. Furthermore, maintaining the status quo would be a “defeat†for law enforcement because it would do nothing to reduce the threat of assault weapons to the nation’s law enforcement officers, who strongly supported the original ban in 1994.
It pains me for IPGV to be at odds with the Brady Campaign on this vitally important issue. If Congress were to reauthorize the assault weapons ban in its present form, the Brady Campaign would “spin†it as a great victory for gun control.
Unfortunately, spin doesn’t stop bullets.
2004 Iowans For The Prevention of Gun Violence
__________________
June 7, 2004
IPGV Editorial
Spin Doesn't Stop Bullets
John Johnson
As you are aware if you have been a regular reader of First Monday and Every Monday, the 1994 federal assault weapons ban will expire on September 13, 2004 unless reauthorized by Congress. Two competing assault weapon bills have been introduced in Congress. H.R. 2038/S.1431 would reauthorize and strengthen the assault weapons ban to meet the original intent of Congress (Reauthorization and Strengthening), whereas H.R.3831/S.2109 would extend the current assault weapons ban in its present form for another 10 years (Straight Reauthorization).
IPGV’s position has been from the beginning and remains that we support, and only support, “a strong and effective assault weapons ban as provided in H.R.2038/S.1431.†Why do we only support reauthorization and strengthening and not straight reauthorization? For the simple reason that the 1994 assault weapons ban is not working as intended by Congress when it passed the ban in 1994.
First of all, the 1994 assault weapons ban was not a “ban†at all. It was intended to be a “freeze.†It attempted to limit the number of assault weapons in the civilian population to 1994 levels by prohibiting the manufacture, possession, and transfer of new semiautomatic assault weapons. It banned 19 specific assault weapons by name, including “copies and duplicates†of such weapons. However, named assault weapons lawfully possessed on September 13, 1994, the day the assault weapons ban took effect, were not covered by the ban and can still be legally possessed and sold.
If the assault weapons ban had worked as intended, then the only assault weapons in the general population today would be the so-called pre-ban assault weapons that were “grandfathered†by the 1994 assault weapons ban.
Has that been the case? Far from it. Almost immediately, gun manufacturers found that they could evade the assault weapons ban by making minor cosmetic modifications to their weapons, renaming them, and marketing them as legal post-ban models. For example, the Colt Match Target .223-caliber semiautomatic assault rifle has the same firing characteristics as the Colt AR15 .223-caliber semiautomatic assault rifle banned by name in the 1994 assault weapons ban. And there are many other examples. A 2003 Autoloaders Buyers Guide lists over 125 different makes and models of AR15-type assault rifles made by more than a dozen U.S. manufacturers. To say AR15s have been banned is perpetuating a hoax.
To the best of my knowledge, virtually every single assault weapon banned by name in the 1994 assault weapons ban (AK-47s, UZIs, AR15s, TEC-DC9s, MAK 10s) is now being sold under another name. The vice president of Bushmaster Firearms, manufacturer of a full product line of AR15-type semiautomatic assault rifles, including the XM15 E2S .223-caliber assault rifle used in the Washington, DC-area sniper shootings in 2002, has said that Bushmaster sales have increased 900 percent, and revenues have increased 10 to 15 times, since the 1994 assault weapons ban was enacted.
It is as if Congress had passed a ban on Sport Utility Vehicles by name (Ford Explorer, Chevy Blazer, Dodge Durango, Honda Element, Toyota Sequoia, and Volkswagen Touareg). But then allowed Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, Honda, Toyota, and Volkswagen to change the wheel rims, chrome trim, and interior and market the vehicle as a post-ban SUV. Most people would say that such a ban is ineffective in getting SUVs off of the streets. I am not kidding folks; this is how ineffective the assault weapons ban has been at banning the manufacturer, possession, and transfer of new assault weapons. By any objective measure of the number of new assault weapons it has banned, the 1994 assault weapons ban has been a total failure.
Given the facts, it is hard to understand why any gun violence prevention group would support a straight reauthorization of the current assault weapons ban in its present form. Unfortunately, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence (formerly Handgun Gun Control) supports the straight reauthorization bill H.R.3831/S.2109.
As previously stated, IPGV does not support a straight reauthorization of the assault weapons ban because it would not reduce the availability of assault weapons to civilians one bit. We consider that simply maintaining the status quo would be a “victory†for gun manufacturers, like Bushmaster, because they could continue to manufacturer and market AR15-type semiautomatic assault rifles to civilians without interruption. Furthermore, maintaining the status quo would be a “defeat†for law enforcement because it would do nothing to reduce the threat of assault weapons to the nation’s law enforcement officers, who strongly supported the original ban in 1994.
It pains me for IPGV to be at odds with the Brady Campaign on this vitally important issue. If Congress were to reauthorize the assault weapons ban in its present form, the Brady Campaign would “spin†it as a great victory for gun control.
Unfortunately, spin doesn’t stop bullets.
2004 Iowans For The Prevention of Gun Violence
__________________
