Seeker of Truth
05-28-2003, 04:04 PM
Debate rekindled on assault-weapon ban
Law expires in '04; some say, so what
By Dana Wilkie
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
May 27, 2003
WASHINGTON – If Congress allows the nation's decade-old assault-weapons ban to expire next year – which seems likely – then the prospect raises an important question: What would a world without an assault-weapons ban look like?
Brace yourself: It won't look much different.
That's the opinion of many experts about the 1994 ban that enraged gun supporters, elated gun-control advocates, created high drama in Congress and arguably led to the Election Day defeat of some who supported it.
Gun manufacturers have created legal weapons nearly identical to those that were outlawed, and federal studies indicate the law had little effect on crime. This has led gun-control advocates to wonder whether the ban went far enough, and gun-rights supporters to suggest that such laws do little more than boost the profiles of lawmakers such as Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
The California Democrat said she believes the ban she wrote and shepherded through Congress nearly 10 years ago has helped make America's streets safer.
"If you're a drive-by shooter, do you go out with a .38-caliber revolver?" she asked. "I don't think so. You just point (an assault weapon) out the window and pump away . . . and you're bound to hit somebody. What kind of a gun is that for civilian society?"
The assault-weapons ban outlaws the sale and possession of 19 types of firearms by name, and a host of others that have certain characteristics. It will expire Sept. 13, 2004, unless Congress passes a Feinstein bill that would make it permanent.
President Bush said he would support extending the ban, but he is not pressing for a vote from congressional conservatives, who don't want Republicans to weigh in on the politically touchy matter just before the election.
More @ signonsandiego.com (http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20030527-9999_1n27ban.html)
Law expires in '04; some say, so what
By Dana Wilkie
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
May 27, 2003
WASHINGTON – If Congress allows the nation's decade-old assault-weapons ban to expire next year – which seems likely – then the prospect raises an important question: What would a world without an assault-weapons ban look like?
Brace yourself: It won't look much different.
That's the opinion of many experts about the 1994 ban that enraged gun supporters, elated gun-control advocates, created high drama in Congress and arguably led to the Election Day defeat of some who supported it.
Gun manufacturers have created legal weapons nearly identical to those that were outlawed, and federal studies indicate the law had little effect on crime. This has led gun-control advocates to wonder whether the ban went far enough, and gun-rights supporters to suggest that such laws do little more than boost the profiles of lawmakers such as Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
The California Democrat said she believes the ban she wrote and shepherded through Congress nearly 10 years ago has helped make America's streets safer.
"If you're a drive-by shooter, do you go out with a .38-caliber revolver?" she asked. "I don't think so. You just point (an assault weapon) out the window and pump away . . . and you're bound to hit somebody. What kind of a gun is that for civilian society?"
The assault-weapons ban outlaws the sale and possession of 19 types of firearms by name, and a host of others that have certain characteristics. It will expire Sept. 13, 2004, unless Congress passes a Feinstein bill that would make it permanent.
President Bush said he would support extending the ban, but he is not pressing for a vote from congressional conservatives, who don't want Republicans to weigh in on the politically touchy matter just before the election.
More @ signonsandiego.com (http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20030527-9999_1n27ban.html)