Dan from MI
New member
From the congressional record at http://thomas.loc.gov
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Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise to speak about a common sense bill that will protect American citizens and law enforcement officers. The Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act is designed to restore and strengthen the ban on assault weapons that expired on September 13, 2004.
The Government Accountability Office recently reported that 47 people on the terrorist watch list legally purchased firearms in this country last year. I personally believe that a person on the terrorist watch list, who isn't allowed to board a commercial airliner, should not be able to purchase any weapon. But they especially shouldn't be able to buy assault weapons, which possess unique, military-bred, anti-personnel design characteristics. These features, taken together, make it easy for a shooter to simply point a weapon--as opposed to taking careful aim--and quickly spray a wide area with a lethal hail of bullets.
These features make assault weapons especially attractive to terrorists and criminals, and virtually useless to hunters or sport shooters.
Before the previous ban on assault weapons expired last November, some attempted to justify that expiration by saying that it wasn't working as intended.
That is true. Some gun manufacturers were exploiting loopholes in the law by selling kits that made it possible to modify legal firearms into assault -style weapons, or by changing a few features of a weapon so it would slip through the legal definition of an assault rifle. The proper response to these abuses was not to let the ban expire, however. Instead, we should have fixed the ban so it really kept assault -style weapons out of the hands of criminals and terrorists. This bill will do that.
It improves and simplifies the definition of assault weapons; expands the scope of the ban to include conversion parts kits that can be purchased through the mail and used to build an assault weapon; regulates the transfer of grandfathered assault weapons; clarifies definitions of assault weapon characteristics; and enhances tracing of assault weapons.
Keeping assault weapons out of the hands of terrorists and criminals is simply a matter of common sense. Innocent lives are at stake--including the lives of law enforcement officers who are our last line of defense against terrorists who would attack our communities. Make no mistake--military-style assault weapons are a threat to cops on the street.
An analysis of FBI data found that one in five law enforcement officers slain in the line of duty between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 2001, were killed with assault weapons. How many of those officers would be alive today if criminals hadn't been able to get their hands on assault weapons?
Hundreds of organizations are on record in support of a ban on assault weapons, including the Anti-Defamation League, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence united with the Million Mom March, Consumer Federation of America, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, National League of Cities, and Voices for America's Children. I urge all of my colleagues to support this common-sense measure.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
S. 645
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2005''.
SEC. 2. RESTRICTION ON MANUFACTURE, TRANSFER, AND POSSESSION OF CERTAIN SEMIAUTOMATIC ASSAULT WEAPONS.
(a) RESTRICTION.--Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding after subsection (u) the following:
``(v)(1) It shall be unlawful for a person to manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon.
``(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the possession or transfer of any semiautomatic assault weapon otherwise lawfully possessed under Federal law on the date of enactment of this subsection.
``(3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any firearm that--
``(A) is manually operated by bolt, pump, level, or slide action;
``(B) has been rendered permanently inoperable; or
``(C) is an antique firearm.
``(4) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to--
``(A) the manufacture for, transfer to, or possession by the United States or a department or agency of the United States or a State or a department, agency, or political subdivision of a State, or a transfer to or possession by a law enforcement officer employed by such an entity for purposes of law enforcement (whether on or off duty);
``(B) the transfer to a licensee under title I of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 for purposes of establishing and maintaining an onsite physical protection system and security organization required by Federal law, or possession by an employee or contractor of such licensee onsite for such purposes or off-site for purposes of licensee-authorized training or transportation of nuclear materials;
``(C) the possession, by an individual who is retired from service with a law enforcement agency and is not otherwise prohibited from receiving a firearm, of a semiautomatic assault weapon transferred to the individual by the agency upon such retirement; or
``(D) the manufacture, transfer, or possession of a semiautomatic assault weapon by a licensed manufacturer or licensed importer for the purposes of testing or experimentation authorized by the Secretary.
``(5) It shall be unlawful for any person to transfer a semiautomatic assault weapon to which paragraph (1) does not apply, except through--
``(A) a licensed dealer, and for purposes of subsection (t) in the case of such a transfer, the weapon shall be considered to be transferred from the business inventory of the licensed dealer and the dealer shall be considered to be the transferor; or
``(B) a State or local law enforcement agency if the transfer is made in accordance with the procedures provided for in subsection (t) of this section and section 923(g).
``(6) The Attorney General shall establish and maintain, in a timely manner, a record of the make, model, and date of manufacture of any semiautomatic assault weapon which the Attorney General is made aware has been used in relation to a crime under Federal or State law, and the nature and circumstances of the crime involved, including the outcome of relevant criminal investigations and proceedings. The Attorney General shall annually submit the record to Congress and make the record available to the general public.''.
(b) DEFINITION OF SEMIAUTOMATIC ASSAULT WEAPON.--Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding after paragraph (29) the following:
``(30) The term `semiautomatic assault weapon' means any of the following:
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Pt 1 (10,0000 character limit)
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Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise to speak about a common sense bill that will protect American citizens and law enforcement officers. The Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act is designed to restore and strengthen the ban on assault weapons that expired on September 13, 2004.
The Government Accountability Office recently reported that 47 people on the terrorist watch list legally purchased firearms in this country last year. I personally believe that a person on the terrorist watch list, who isn't allowed to board a commercial airliner, should not be able to purchase any weapon. But they especially shouldn't be able to buy assault weapons, which possess unique, military-bred, anti-personnel design characteristics. These features, taken together, make it easy for a shooter to simply point a weapon--as opposed to taking careful aim--and quickly spray a wide area with a lethal hail of bullets.
These features make assault weapons especially attractive to terrorists and criminals, and virtually useless to hunters or sport shooters.
Before the previous ban on assault weapons expired last November, some attempted to justify that expiration by saying that it wasn't working as intended.
That is true. Some gun manufacturers were exploiting loopholes in the law by selling kits that made it possible to modify legal firearms into assault -style weapons, or by changing a few features of a weapon so it would slip through the legal definition of an assault rifle. The proper response to these abuses was not to let the ban expire, however. Instead, we should have fixed the ban so it really kept assault -style weapons out of the hands of criminals and terrorists. This bill will do that.
It improves and simplifies the definition of assault weapons; expands the scope of the ban to include conversion parts kits that can be purchased through the mail and used to build an assault weapon; regulates the transfer of grandfathered assault weapons; clarifies definitions of assault weapon characteristics; and enhances tracing of assault weapons.
Keeping assault weapons out of the hands of terrorists and criminals is simply a matter of common sense. Innocent lives are at stake--including the lives of law enforcement officers who are our last line of defense against terrorists who would attack our communities. Make no mistake--military-style assault weapons are a threat to cops on the street.
An analysis of FBI data found that one in five law enforcement officers slain in the line of duty between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 2001, were killed with assault weapons. How many of those officers would be alive today if criminals hadn't been able to get their hands on assault weapons?
Hundreds of organizations are on record in support of a ban on assault weapons, including the Anti-Defamation League, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence united with the Million Mom March, Consumer Federation of America, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, National League of Cities, and Voices for America's Children. I urge all of my colleagues to support this common-sense measure.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
S. 645
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2005''.
SEC. 2. RESTRICTION ON MANUFACTURE, TRANSFER, AND POSSESSION OF CERTAIN SEMIAUTOMATIC ASSAULT WEAPONS.
(a) RESTRICTION.--Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding after subsection (u) the following:
``(v)(1) It shall be unlawful for a person to manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon.
``(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the possession or transfer of any semiautomatic assault weapon otherwise lawfully possessed under Federal law on the date of enactment of this subsection.
``(3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any firearm that--
``(A) is manually operated by bolt, pump, level, or slide action;
``(B) has been rendered permanently inoperable; or
``(C) is an antique firearm.
``(4) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to--
``(A) the manufacture for, transfer to, or possession by the United States or a department or agency of the United States or a State or a department, agency, or political subdivision of a State, or a transfer to or possession by a law enforcement officer employed by such an entity for purposes of law enforcement (whether on or off duty);
``(B) the transfer to a licensee under title I of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 for purposes of establishing and maintaining an onsite physical protection system and security organization required by Federal law, or possession by an employee or contractor of such licensee onsite for such purposes or off-site for purposes of licensee-authorized training or transportation of nuclear materials;
``(C) the possession, by an individual who is retired from service with a law enforcement agency and is not otherwise prohibited from receiving a firearm, of a semiautomatic assault weapon transferred to the individual by the agency upon such retirement; or
``(D) the manufacture, transfer, or possession of a semiautomatic assault weapon by a licensed manufacturer or licensed importer for the purposes of testing or experimentation authorized by the Secretary.
``(5) It shall be unlawful for any person to transfer a semiautomatic assault weapon to which paragraph (1) does not apply, except through--
``(A) a licensed dealer, and for purposes of subsection (t) in the case of such a transfer, the weapon shall be considered to be transferred from the business inventory of the licensed dealer and the dealer shall be considered to be the transferor; or
``(B) a State or local law enforcement agency if the transfer is made in accordance with the procedures provided for in subsection (t) of this section and section 923(g).
``(6) The Attorney General shall establish and maintain, in a timely manner, a record of the make, model, and date of manufacture of any semiautomatic assault weapon which the Attorney General is made aware has been used in relation to a crime under Federal or State law, and the nature and circumstances of the crime involved, including the outcome of relevant criminal investigations and proceedings. The Attorney General shall annually submit the record to Congress and make the record available to the general public.''.
(b) DEFINITION OF SEMIAUTOMATIC ASSAULT WEAPON.--Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding after paragraph (29) the following:
``(30) The term `semiautomatic assault weapon' means any of the following:
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Pt 1 (10,0000 character limit)