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http://www.csgv.org/news/headlines/cincipost5_7_04.cfm
Dems Push for Assault Rifle Ban
By Kevin Osborne
May 7, 2004
Worried that the Republican-controlled Congress won't renew a decade-old ban on assault weapons when it expires this fall, two local Democrats are pushing to enact a similar law in Ohio.
State Rep. Tyrone Yates will introduce a bill this morning that would place the ban permanently into state law, and eliminate existing loopholes that allow gun manufacturers to operate around the ban in some instances.
Yates, a former Cincinnati City Council member, will unveil his proposal along with current Council Member David Crowley at a press conference in Evanston, a neighborhood hit hard by shootings and crime in the past few years.
Crowley will ask his colleagues on City Council to endorse Yates' bill, as well as lobby to extend the federal ban.
The semiautomatic weapons continue firing ammunition automatically once the user squeezes the trigger once and keeps it pressed down.
Urban areas already are wracked by gun violence, and ending the ban would worsen the situation, the lawmakers said.
Also, allowing the weapons would further jeopardize the lives of law enforcement officers as it would be easier for the powerful guns to fall into the hands of criminals, they added.
"They represent a great danger not only to our fellow citizens, but also to police," Yates said. "There are too many guns on our streets now, and this would increase that problem."
Crowley said there are no legitimate reasons for the sale of semiautomatic weapons to the general public.
"These guns can't be used for hunting or any purpose like that," said Rocky Merz, a Crowley aide. "They're made for one reason and one reason only, and that's to use against people."
Scheduled to join the lawmakers at this morning's press conference are Toby Hooper, executive director of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, a group that has lobbied for a state ban and helped write the bill; and Dr. Rebecca Brown, a trauma surgeon in the emergency room at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, which has been flooded with gunshot victims in the past few years.
The lawmakers will present a petition signed by more than 1,500 local residents urging support for the ban.
Republicans may control the statehouse, Yates said, but public sentiment supports keeping the ban.
"Frankly, everything indicates the public is on our side on this one," he said. "Special interests are the ones who don't want to see the ban continue.
"It comes down to articulating the message about what the bill does. I am always an optimist. Even if the decks are stacked against me, I have to assume it will pass."
Although Bush and Senate Democrats -- including presumptive presidential nominee John Kerry -- support renewing the federal ban, it's unlikely the GOP-controlled House of Representatives would pass such a bill.
In March, the U.S. Senate voted to kill a GOP-sponsored bill that would have given gunmakers liability protection against lawsuits after Democrats amended it to include the federal ban's renewal.
The provisions irked the National Rifle Association, which withdrew its support and prompted GOP leaders to shelve the measure.
The NRA says the ban unfairly infringes on Second Amendment rights.
Ban supporters question Bush's commitment to seek a renewal, noting that Vice President Dick Cheney recently spoke at an NRA convention.
http://www.csgv.org/news/headlines/cincipost5_7_04.cfm
Dems Push for Assault Rifle Ban
By Kevin Osborne
May 7, 2004
Worried that the Republican-controlled Congress won't renew a decade-old ban on assault weapons when it expires this fall, two local Democrats are pushing to enact a similar law in Ohio.
State Rep. Tyrone Yates will introduce a bill this morning that would place the ban permanently into state law, and eliminate existing loopholes that allow gun manufacturers to operate around the ban in some instances.
Yates, a former Cincinnati City Council member, will unveil his proposal along with current Council Member David Crowley at a press conference in Evanston, a neighborhood hit hard by shootings and crime in the past few years.
Crowley will ask his colleagues on City Council to endorse Yates' bill, as well as lobby to extend the federal ban.
The semiautomatic weapons continue firing ammunition automatically once the user squeezes the trigger once and keeps it pressed down.
Urban areas already are wracked by gun violence, and ending the ban would worsen the situation, the lawmakers said.
Also, allowing the weapons would further jeopardize the lives of law enforcement officers as it would be easier for the powerful guns to fall into the hands of criminals, they added.
"They represent a great danger not only to our fellow citizens, but also to police," Yates said. "There are too many guns on our streets now, and this would increase that problem."
Crowley said there are no legitimate reasons for the sale of semiautomatic weapons to the general public.
"These guns can't be used for hunting or any purpose like that," said Rocky Merz, a Crowley aide. "They're made for one reason and one reason only, and that's to use against people."
Scheduled to join the lawmakers at this morning's press conference are Toby Hooper, executive director of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, a group that has lobbied for a state ban and helped write the bill; and Dr. Rebecca Brown, a trauma surgeon in the emergency room at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, which has been flooded with gunshot victims in the past few years.
The lawmakers will present a petition signed by more than 1,500 local residents urging support for the ban.
Republicans may control the statehouse, Yates said, but public sentiment supports keeping the ban.
"Frankly, everything indicates the public is on our side on this one," he said. "Special interests are the ones who don't want to see the ban continue.
"It comes down to articulating the message about what the bill does. I am always an optimist. Even if the decks are stacked against me, I have to assume it will pass."
Although Bush and Senate Democrats -- including presumptive presidential nominee John Kerry -- support renewing the federal ban, it's unlikely the GOP-controlled House of Representatives would pass such a bill.
In March, the U.S. Senate voted to kill a GOP-sponsored bill that would have given gunmakers liability protection against lawsuits after Democrats amended it to include the federal ban's renewal.
The provisions irked the National Rifle Association, which withdrew its support and prompted GOP leaders to shelve the measure.
The NRA says the ban unfairly infringes on Second Amendment rights.
Ban supporters question Bush's commitment to seek a renewal, noting that Vice President Dick Cheney recently spoke at an NRA convention.
