Lawmakers on hot seat as weapons ban expires

[JayS]

May 14, 2004, 9:13PM
Lawmakers on hot seat as weapons ban expires
By BENNETT ROTH
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/politics/2570615



WASHINGTON -- Gun control may emerge as a wedge issue in the fall elections, as Congress decides whether to reauthorize the assault weapons ban.

The 10-year ban expires this September, and advocates for and against renewal are closely watching lawmakers and the White House. The law banned 19 models of weapons.

The National Rifle Association, the nation's most influential gun rights group, is not expected to make any political endorsements, including for president, until after the Sept. 13 date on which the law expires.

*SNIP*

EDITED BY ADMIN FOR COPYRIGHT REASONS

[FeebMaster]

1. Just to head off the inevitable:

The Assault Weapons Ban has nothing to do with machine guns.

[madrchsod]

2. does this mean

i can`t buy one of those assualt weapons with the big box of ammo on top? sorry, i just can`t figure out why a god fearing, american loving,my country -right or wrong would have a hard time registering their guns? don`t they trust their government? aren`t they real patrotic when it comes to the laws of our land? who`s going to take their weapons? george bush? why he`s the cowboy president-nascar loving ,blue collar guy you want to have a beer with. yup, the nra are a bunch of guys who have lost their grip on sanity...

[DoNotRefill]

5. Given what we've been through the past 3 years...

Can you SERIOUSLY ask if we trust the government with a straight face?!?!?!?!?

[TexasMexican]

3. I'll be happy when the ban ends.

its a bunch of bullshit anyways.

[7th_Sephiroth]

4. yeah really

drove up the "pre ban" prices, too,maybe, just to spit in the faces of pro-ban people, i'll buy an M-950 or something if it expires

[DoNotRefill]

6. Calicos are fun....

but the M-100 is a lot cheaper to shoot. Too bad the ban drove them out of business...

[DoNotRefill]

7. There are 80-100 MILLION gun owners in the US....

that are, by definition, eligible to vote (Over 18 and not a felon). Do we REALLY want to do something that will motivate them to go to the polls and vote against us in large numbers?

The AW ban NEEDS to go away. We've thrown enough political capital away on something that doesn't work.

[struggle4progress]

9. I thought some of the law enforcement folks liked the AW ban ...

Don't we care about the police?

[slackmaster]

10. Not the ones I've met at the shooting range

Rank-and-file law enforcement people don't support the AWB. Their leaders, e.g. associations of chiefs of pplice, are political animals who have their own aspirations to power and often make statements that don't reflect those of typical LEOs.

Don't we care about the police?

I care very much about them. The truth is the AW ban hasn't done anything to make them safer. It's a weak law that restricts features that have nothing to do with the functionality of a firearm. When it expires in September, the streets will not become flooded with more dangerous weapons than are available right now.

One can make a rational argument for a more comprehensive definition of "assault weapon" and offer reasons why they should be banned or restricted in some way, but nobody has bothered to do the hard work that would be required to formulate a policy that both makes logical sense and has a reasonable chance of passing. People like the Million Mom March have wasted a lot of energy pushing for a law that hasn't accomplished any of the lofty goals it was supposed to.

The present weak "assault weapons" ban passed a Democratically-controlled Congress by ONE VOTE. Anything stricter doesn't have any hope of passage. Best policy for the Democratic Party IMO is to drop the issue.

[DoNotRefill]

11. I've worked either in or with law enforcement since 1986...

and have met ONE cop who supported the AW ban. He was the chief of police of a city with over 200K residents, and an "authority" freak. EVERY other cop I've met either dislikes or outright HATES the AW and magazine ban, and they're theoretically exempt from it.

Why? Because while it theoretically "exempts" them, they have to go through large hassles to replace worn-out equipment. For example, before the ban, if they had a magazine that was malfunctioning, they'd go to the local gun store, buy the $20 magazine, submit a receipt to the purchasing officer, and be reimbursed by the department. At the end of the day, they'd have their magazine, and in one or two weeks, they'd be paid for it. Now, in order to buy the same magazine, they must go either to their chief or purchasing officer, justify the purchase, get a letter authorizing the purchase on Department letterhead, submit it to the gun store, who then orders the magazine after submitting the letter to the supplier. The Department must cut a check, give it to the officer, and the officer present it to the seller when the transaction is completed. This process takes from several weeks to a few months to be completed, during which time the cop is still stuck with the defective magazine.

[Moderator]

8. JayS

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