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from the WCVB site
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/2090184/detail.html
from the WCVB site
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/2090184/detail.html
State Weapons Ban Could Be Rendered Useless
NRA Working To Block Renewal Of Federal Ban In 2004
POSTED: 7:22 a.m. EST April 4, 2003
BOSTON -- Massachusetts' five-year-old assault weapon ban could be rendered useless if the National Rifle Association is successful in blocking the renewal of the federal ban in 2004, state lawmakers warned Thursday.
The state's law, which squeaked through the Legislature in 1998, incorporates references to the federal ban, relying upon the congressional statute to define many of the terms used in the Massachusetts version.
If the federal ban were to be wiped off the books, many key phrases in the state law would no longer be legally defined, Rep. David Linsky, D-Natick, said.
"The Massachusetts law would be impossible to enforce," said Linksy, who appeared before the joint Committee on Public Safety to support a bill that would ensure that state ban would survive, even if the federal ban does not. "Given the makeup of Congress and the fact that the president of the United States is an avid NRA supporter, I have grave concerns that the federal assault weapon ban can survive."
The bill, proposed by Linksy and Sen. Cheryl Jacques, D-Needham, would also expand the state's ban to include all assault weapons and not just those made after Sept. 13, 1994, as under current law.
"A pre-1994 assault weapon is every bit as dangerous as a post-1994 assault weapon," Jacques said.
Gun rights advocates opposed the changes, arguing that there is no proof that the ban is working -- on either the federal or state level -- and that the state should not expand its landmark gun control law until problems with the original have been corrected.
In particular, they want to change a portion of the law that made youthful indiscretions a disqualification for gun ownership.
"I believe ... that Massachusetts doesn't really need further restrictions," said local National Rifle Association spokesman John Hohenwarter. "We're still trying to clean up the mess that was created in 1998."
Massachusetts' Gun Control Act of 1998, which required a tie-breaking vote in the Senate to win approval, is considered one of the most restrictive in the country.
Last year, gun lobbyists waged an unsuccessful campaign to change a portion of the law that prohibits people convicted of violent crimes -- including violent misdemeanors such as simple assault and minor drug crimes -- from applying for a license to carry a handgun or assault weapon.
The opposing sides are lining up this legislative session on a number of gun-related bills, many of which have been proposed repeatedly in the past.
Jacques is renewing her effort to establish a ballistic fingerprinting databank in Massachusetts. That's designed to identify bullets used in crimes by matching the unique markings made on them at the time of firing to the weapon that fired them. This type of technology was used in apprehending the alleged snipers in a string of shootings in Washington last fall.
Both sides predict a heated debate in Congress next fall, when the federal assault weapons ban is set to expire.
"There's definitely going to be a battle," said Rob Wilcox, spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "In Congress, we haven't seen a commitment to renew it."
Federal NRA representatives say the ban simply has not worked.
"The question is why should we keep ineffective laws on the books," NRA public affairs director Andrew Arulanandan said. "Undoubtedly, there will be a healthy debate on this."
Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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