Assault Weapons Ban Ends Monday
The national ban on semi-automatic assault weapons, singed into law by President Clinton in 1994, is set to expire Monday unless Congress acts to extend the ban. The ban includes 19 types of weapons, as well as ammunition clips holding more than 10 rounds.
For the last 10 years this ban has been seen as a success by supporters, with gun related murder rates down dramatical from the last decade. The NRA of course has lobbied against the ban, while it remains popular with the public. There was a poll conducted and released on Monday that shows two-thirds of Americans want the ban extended, even 57 percent of those with guns in their homes.
The Senate did show some support for extending the ban back in March, when it voted to do so as an amendment to a bill preventing gun manufacturers from liability. But the NRA then withdrew its support for the measure, the liability bill died, and the Senate has not revived the issue. The House has avoided the subject, with Dennis Hastert saying he?s not inclined to schedule a vote until the Senate has acted.
Then there?s George Bush. As a presidential candidate in 2000, he promised to extend the weapons ban, and a White House spokesperson told the Washington Post Tuesday that the president still "supports the reauthorization of the current ban." But that?s easy to say with the knowledge that Congress won?t be sending a reauthorization to your desk, and Bush has refrained from pushing the measure along.
The problem is, the National Rifle Association wants assault weapons on our streets. Even if Bush is sincere in wanting to extend the ban, the NRA has threatened to withdraw its support for him. Richard Feldman, a lobbyist for gun manufacturers, told the San Francisco Chronicle it would be "close to his political death" if Bush signed an extension before the election, as the NRA and its fellow travelers would stay away from the polls. And the NRA has withheld its endorsement so far, waiting to make sure Bush plays ball. Feldman said that doesn't?t preclude future action by Bush:"Come January, it's a different story. Then, if he's re-elected, he'd be forced to sign the bill, if he gets a clean one that just contains an extension of the existing law."But by that time, there will be plenty of new semi-automatic weapons on the street, as gun enthusiasts are already gearing up for the expiration. As the Post reports, major gun manufacturers are planning to bring back now-banned models, and are offering to sell 15-round magazines starting Sept. 14.
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Sen. John Kerry charged Friday that President Bush was helping terrorists and caving in to the National Rifle Association by not pushing to extend the 10-year-old federal assault weapons ban that expires at 12:01 a.m. Monday.
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Posted by: Caffeine | September 11, 2004 08:45 AM