Iowa & USA: "Gun control advocates seek ban"

[cuchulainn]

from the Quad-City Times

http://www.qctimes.com/internal.php?story_id=1020375&t=Local+News&c=2,1020375

Gun control advocates seek ban

Last Updated: 11:10 pm, Thursday, November 13th, 2003

Gun control advocates seek ban
By Todd Ruger

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Expiring federal restrictions on semi-automatic assault weapons should be renewed and strengthened by Congress to protect police and other Americans, an Iowa gun control advocate group said Thursday during a press conference at the Davenport Public Library.
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The Iowans for the Prevention of Gun Violence, or IPGV, called on Iowa’s federal lawmakers to support legislation to replace the 1994 restrictions, which banned 19 specific assault weapons by name and others by characteristics, but will expire in September 2004.
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Loopholes in those restrictions allowed manufacturers to evade the ban by making only cosmetic changes to the assault weapons, creating a market of “post-ban†assault weapons more varied than the market in 1994, according to Kirsten Meredith, communications director of IPGV.
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Assault weapons similar to the AR-15 and AK-47 rifles were observed for sale at a recent gun show in Cedar Rapids, and a recent study by the Violence Policy Center said that assault weapons accounted for one in five deaths of law enforcement officials killed in the line of duty from 1998 through 2001, the group said at a press conference in Davenport.

“The potential risk that these weapons, which were designed specifically for war, pose to all Americans, especially law enforcement officers, far outweighs their benefits to society,†Meredith said. “If Congress fails to act, then the manufacture and sale of military-style, semiautomatic assault weapons will once again become unrestricted.â€
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The group called on congressmen to pass the Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2003, which will renew and strengthen the assault weapons ban to meet what they said was the original intent of Congress.
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Lawmakers have to believe the vast majority of people do not want these weapons — AK-47s, AR-15s and UZIs — in America if they vote to strengthen the restrictions, executive director John Johnson said.
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“My feeling is it’s not a sure thing it’s going to pass,†he said of chances that federal legislation will be passed to renew the ban. “Iowa’s lawmakers have to hear from the people.â€
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The 1994 legislation passed by only one vote in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, he said.
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Republicans have gained the majority in both houses of Congress since that law was enacted, and are typically more sympathetic to gun advocates such as the National Rifle Association.
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Existing laws have failed to stop the flow of new assault weapons onto the nation’s streets, Meredith said.
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Bryan Miller, a gun control advocate from New Jersey, said at the press conference that his brother was killed in 1994 when a vengeful shooter opened fire in an FBI office with an assault pistol, overwhelming a room full of trained and armed peace officers.
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In June, the Scott County Sheriff’s Department purchased 15 new .223-caliber, semi-automatic AR-15 rifles — a civilian version of the M-16 — for extra reach, accuracy and firepower needed to keep up with the weapons and armor being found on the streets, Capt. Mike Brown said.
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“We know they’re out there now, and if the officers encounter someone with a high-powered weapon, we’d like to have some high-powered weapons at our ready, too,†he said in June.
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Todd Ruger can be contacted at (563) 383-2493 or [email protected].
© 2003, Quad-City Times

 

[TheEgg]

Reporter is either lazy and/or has an agenda. I am sick to death of reporters re-writing press releases from an anti-second amendment pressure group and passing it off as a "story".

 

[Hutch]

a recent study by the Violence Policy Center said that assault weapons accounted for one in five deaths of law enforcement officials killed in the line of duty from 1998 through 2001

I'd bet my mortgage that this number was cooked up somehow. I'd just loooooove to see how they arrived at that.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Loopholes in those restrictions allowed manufacturers to evade the ban by making only cosmetic changes to the assault weapons, creating a market of “post-ban†assault weapons more varied than the market in 1994, according to Kirsten Meredith, communications director of IPGV.

That's supply and demand for you. Once they've disarmed every last law-abiding American citizen, the leftist extremists will stamp out freedom of speech, then take care of the supply and demand "problem" once and for all.

 

[Justin]

I'd bet my mortgage that this number was cooked up somehow. I'd just loooooove to see how they arrived at that.

Simply by redefining what an 'assault weapon' is. Back in '94 it was a scary looking rifle.
Now VPC considers any weapon capable of taking preban mags to be an 'assault weapon.'

Hence, all cops carry 'assault weapons.'

Therefore even if a cop was shot with a 1908 Luger the argument could be made by the VPC that it is an 'assault weapon' because of the availability of snaildrum magazines.

Also note that this particular 'statistic' from the VPC includes cops shot with their own guns. After all, cops aren't like us poor proles. They even get to have newly made 'high-capacity' magazines for the 'assault weapons' they carry around on their hip.

I dunno whether to or

 

[Geech]

Simply by redefining what an 'assault weapon' is. Back in '94 it was a scary looking rifle.
Now VPC considers any weapon capable of taking preban mags to be an 'assault weapon.'

It's even broader than that. On their website, VPC call the Hi-Point Carbine an "assault rifle" even though it doesn't use prebans.

 

[racenutz]

The Iowans for the Prevention of Gun Violence, or IPGV

Ha Ha, their office is located in the same building as my chiropractor, so I walk past it every 2 weeks.

 

[Travis McGee]

"Assault weapons similar to the AR-15 and AK-47 rifles were observed for sale at a recent gun show in Cedar Rapids"

Oooohhh.....SCARY!!!

 

[makarov1]

These so called "assault weapons" are semi-auto only, and are not designed for war! Someone, meaning every liberal in America, needs to brush up on their knowlege of weaponry.