http://www.bergen.com/region/gunshj200004055.htm
Republican accuses rival of being 'coward' on assault arms
Wednesday, April 5, 2000
By HERB JACKSON
Trenton Bureau Chief
Hitting a theme he will probably use often as the battle for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination heats up, state Sen. William L. Gormley accused Rep. Bob Franks Tuesday of being a "coward" on assault weapons.
Gormley, R-Atlantic, said Franks ducked three votes taken in the Assembly between 1990 and 1992 on the state's sweeping ban on the sale and possession of many semiautomatic weapons. Franks responded by noting that he voted for a federal ban, which was more sweeping.
The first vote was taken in 1990, when Democrats controlled the Legislature. The second came in May 1992 after Republicans took control and tried to repeal the law.
The third was in August 1992 during an attempt to override the veto by Jim Florio, who was then governor, of the repeal.
Franks, then an assemblyman, was absent for the first two votes and abstained on the third. Gormley voted for the ban in 1990 and against the repeal in 1992. The override never came up in the Senate.
"When it came to a situation where there were political consequences, he was a coward, plain and simple," Gormley said in an interview. "I don't know how anyone can explain it otherwise."
Franks, R-Berkeley Heights, said he supports gun control and voted for a ban in Congress in 1994.
"The definitive vote on assault weapons occurred in Washington, D.C., and not in Trenton," Franks said. "As part of the 1994 Clinton crime bill, I was one of a handful of Republicans to support the measure."
He said the federal law outlawed the weapons in the 50 states, as well as provided money to help put an additional 100,000 police officers on the streets of American cities.
State law gave owners of assault weapons two years to sell them before their possession became a crime. The federal law was a prospective ban on sales, and owners who bought their guns legally before the ban could keep them.
Asked if that made the federal law weaker than that of New Jersey, Franks responded:
"That may be someone's position, but it's not mine. The definitive vote occurred in 1994."
He would not discuss Gormley's criticism for missing the votes in the Legislature in 1990 and 1992.
"To me, that's ancient history," Franks said. "The real vote occurred in the House of Representatives against a backdrop of the most aggressive lobbying campaign ever by the [National Rifle Association]. I stood up to them and voted to ban assault weapons."
Franks said he also supported the Brady bill, which required a waiting period for handgun purchases, and laws to restrict sales at gun shows.
"I supported common-sense control measures to keep guns out of the hands of children, of felons, and people with a history of mental instability," Franks said.
Gormley was one of the only Republicans in the Legislature to support New Jersey's ban, and the NRA funded a candidate who tried to unseat him in a brutal GOP primary in 1991. In a news release, Gormley noted that Franks had been chairman of the Republican State Committee at that time.
"Why didn't Bob Franks speak out against the NRA's 'soft money' campaign?" Gormley said. "As assemblyman, Franks walked out on votes to ban assault weapons. As New Jersey GOP chairman, he checked out his responsibility to take a stand against special interests, soft money, and dirty campaigning."
Copyright © 2000 Bergen Record Corp.
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The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.
Republican accuses rival of being 'coward' on assault arms
Wednesday, April 5, 2000
By HERB JACKSON
Trenton Bureau Chief
Hitting a theme he will probably use often as the battle for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination heats up, state Sen. William L. Gormley accused Rep. Bob Franks Tuesday of being a "coward" on assault weapons.
Gormley, R-Atlantic, said Franks ducked three votes taken in the Assembly between 1990 and 1992 on the state's sweeping ban on the sale and possession of many semiautomatic weapons. Franks responded by noting that he voted for a federal ban, which was more sweeping.
The first vote was taken in 1990, when Democrats controlled the Legislature. The second came in May 1992 after Republicans took control and tried to repeal the law.
The third was in August 1992 during an attempt to override the veto by Jim Florio, who was then governor, of the repeal.
Franks, then an assemblyman, was absent for the first two votes and abstained on the third. Gormley voted for the ban in 1990 and against the repeal in 1992. The override never came up in the Senate.
"When it came to a situation where there were political consequences, he was a coward, plain and simple," Gormley said in an interview. "I don't know how anyone can explain it otherwise."
Franks, R-Berkeley Heights, said he supports gun control and voted for a ban in Congress in 1994.
"The definitive vote on assault weapons occurred in Washington, D.C., and not in Trenton," Franks said. "As part of the 1994 Clinton crime bill, I was one of a handful of Republicans to support the measure."
He said the federal law outlawed the weapons in the 50 states, as well as provided money to help put an additional 100,000 police officers on the streets of American cities.
State law gave owners of assault weapons two years to sell them before their possession became a crime. The federal law was a prospective ban on sales, and owners who bought their guns legally before the ban could keep them.
Asked if that made the federal law weaker than that of New Jersey, Franks responded:
"That may be someone's position, but it's not mine. The definitive vote occurred in 1994."
He would not discuss Gormley's criticism for missing the votes in the Legislature in 1990 and 1992.
"To me, that's ancient history," Franks said. "The real vote occurred in the House of Representatives against a backdrop of the most aggressive lobbying campaign ever by the [National Rifle Association]. I stood up to them and voted to ban assault weapons."
Franks said he also supported the Brady bill, which required a waiting period for handgun purchases, and laws to restrict sales at gun shows.
"I supported common-sense control measures to keep guns out of the hands of children, of felons, and people with a history of mental instability," Franks said.
Gormley was one of the only Republicans in the Legislature to support New Jersey's ban, and the NRA funded a candidate who tried to unseat him in a brutal GOP primary in 1991. In a news release, Gormley noted that Franks had been chairman of the Republican State Committee at that time.
"Why didn't Bob Franks speak out against the NRA's 'soft money' campaign?" Gormley said. "As assemblyman, Franks walked out on votes to ban assault weapons. As New Jersey GOP chairman, he checked out his responsibility to take a stand against special interests, soft money, and dirty campaigning."
Copyright © 2000 Bergen Record Corp.
------------------
The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.