Latest from the VPC

[NoHarmNoFAL]

Six Months Until Expiration:
The Fight to Strengthen and Renew the Assault Weapons Ban Continues

Dear Violence Policy Center Action Network Member:

Time is running out! Saturday, March 13, 2004, marks six months until the assault weapons ban expires. Please continue to pressure your members of Congress, as well as President Bush, to act to strengthen and renew the ban.

Last week, the Violence Policy Center released a new study, Illinois: Land of Post-Ban Assault Weapons, which reveals that Illinois leads the nation in the number of gun manufacturers who are evading the 1994 assault weapons ban by making slight, cosmetic modifications to banned weapons. The Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence released this VPC study at a Chicago press conference and called on their U.S. Senate and House members to support effective legislation to truly ban all assault weapons, the "Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2003" (S.1431/H.R. 2038). This is a great example of what local organizations across the country are doing to educate the news media and keep pressure on Congress and the President.
Coverage of the Illinois event:
http://action.vpc.org/ctt.asp?u=1432575&l=21350
http://action.vpc.org/ctt.asp?u=1432575&l=21351
http://action.vpc.org/ctt.asp?u=1432575&l=21352

View the study at http://action.vpc.org/ctt.asp?u=1432575&l=21353

Please tell your friends to visit our website at http://action.vpc.org/ctt.asp?u=1432575&l=21354 to send a letter to President Bush and encourage them to sign-up for the VPC Action Network!

 

[dischord]

gun manufacturers who are evading the 1994 assault weapons ban by making slight, cosmetic modifications to banned weapons.

Yeah, and I "evaded" the speed limit law by going 54 in a 55 zone.

 

[benEzra]

gun manufacturers who are evading the 1994 assault weapons ban by making slight, cosmetic modifications to banned weapons

Um, the correct phrase is "complying with," not "evading."

 

[DonP]

How many Illinois jobs will they make go away?

Let's see, they want to punish the 4 Illinois firms that manufacture "cheater" assault weapons.

How many people will that put out of work out at Les Baer, Springfield etc.?

Of course then they can add them to the list of people "out of work" so it's a win win for them either way.

 

[Hkmp5sd]

Immediately after the 1994 law was enacted, the gun industry moved quickly to make slight, cosmetic design changes in their post-ban guns to evade the law, a tactic the industry dubbed sporterization. Of the nine assault weapon brand/types listed by manufacturer in the law, six of the brand/types have been re-marketed in new, sporterized configurations.

Let me see...the AW ban has been a great success over the last ten years by greatly reducing the number of murders and we need to extend it to keep our streets safe.

However, immediately following the ban back in 1994, manufacturers "evaded" the ban and have been selling these "disguised" assault weapons for the last ten years and we need to close that loophole because of the danger these firearms pose to citizens and police.

Since the AW ban works, even with these "disquised" firearms on the market, they obviously cannot be AWs. As they are more dangerous than "normal" firearms, we must have a new class of firearms on our hands that needs banning. Perhaps they should be designated "Semi-Automatic Wannabe Assault Weapons." They can easily be identified as a semi-automatic firearm that fires one round when the trigger is pulled. It is clear that this characteristic can apply to many guns not currently considered "Wannabe" AWs, so the ban must be expanded to include these "Not Quite a Semi-Automatic Wannabe Assault Weapons."