Most of this is the usual claptrap by the usual people. I'd not heard DeLay put his foot down & say the ban was dead before.
Congressional Republicans Say Gun Ban to Expire
Reuters
Sept. 8, 2004 — By Joanne Kenen
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Police officials from across the country on Wednesday warned that dangerous assault weapons will flood U.S. streets if the ban on those guns expires next week but Republican congressional leaders expressed no concerns about letting the restriction lapse.
Click to learn more...
"I think the will of the American people is consistent with letting it expire, and so it will expire," Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican, told reporters.
Asked why Congress wanted to legalize the military-style weapons again when public opinion polls found broad public support for keeping them illegal, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican said, "We don't do things by polls."
The politically powerful National Rifle Association gun lobby has made killing the ban a top priority, and some lawmakers are fearful of crossing the NRA weeks before congressional elections.
The Consumer Federation of America released a report this week, based in part on manufacturer catalogs and Web sites, that concluded that "assault weapons will be more lethal and less expensive... Prices will drop as supply dramatically increases."
Under the 10-year ban enacted in 1994, weapons such as AK-47s, TEC-9s, and Uzis were outlawed, as were high capacity ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds. That law expires next Monday and Congress does not plan to extend it.
The Senate did vote earlier this year to renew the ban but that measure was part of a larger gun bill that was defeated at the NRA's behest. The House leaders have not allowed a vote on the ban this year.
Even groups that back renewing the law acknowledge the gun industry found loopholes and that dangerous weapons do remain on U.S. streets. But they argue that without the ban, the problem will grow worse.
New York Democrat Sen. Charles Schumer said letting a successful law expire reminded him of "Alice in Wonderland," and called the NRA influence "a dysfunction in our politics."
Representatives from law enforcement groups gathered in a Senate hearing room to urge lawmakers to switch course and renew the ban. They had hoped to gather at a national memorial to slain officers but rain forced them inside.
Several of the chiefs spoke of how their officers are already outgunned by the bad guys, and fear it will be even worse after next week if drug dealers, gang members, or even people on U.S. terror watch lists can legally purchase these lethal weapons.
"They are a threat to the safety of our dedicated police officers and the public," said Washington, D.C. police chief Charles Ramsey.
"We're sick and tired of picking up young bodies off our streets," said Richard Pennington, Atlanta's police chief and a top leader of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. "We're sick and tired of seeing our young people getting killed and destroyed, injured and maimed on our streets."
Several pro-ban lawmakers repeated their call for President Bush to speak out for the continued prohibition on these weapons. Bush in his 2000 campaign backed the ban but has not worked for its extension.
DeLay said, "If the president asked me, it'd still be no.. It will expire Monday, and that's that." (Additional reporting by Thomas Ferraro)
Copyright 2004 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Congressional Republicans Say Gun Ban to Expire
Reuters
Sept. 8, 2004 — By Joanne Kenen
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Police officials from across the country on Wednesday warned that dangerous assault weapons will flood U.S. streets if the ban on those guns expires next week but Republican congressional leaders expressed no concerns about letting the restriction lapse.
Click to learn more...
"I think the will of the American people is consistent with letting it expire, and so it will expire," Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican, told reporters.
Asked why Congress wanted to legalize the military-style weapons again when public opinion polls found broad public support for keeping them illegal, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican said, "We don't do things by polls."
The politically powerful National Rifle Association gun lobby has made killing the ban a top priority, and some lawmakers are fearful of crossing the NRA weeks before congressional elections.
The Consumer Federation of America released a report this week, based in part on manufacturer catalogs and Web sites, that concluded that "assault weapons will be more lethal and less expensive... Prices will drop as supply dramatically increases."
Under the 10-year ban enacted in 1994, weapons such as AK-47s, TEC-9s, and Uzis were outlawed, as were high capacity ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds. That law expires next Monday and Congress does not plan to extend it.
The Senate did vote earlier this year to renew the ban but that measure was part of a larger gun bill that was defeated at the NRA's behest. The House leaders have not allowed a vote on the ban this year.
Even groups that back renewing the law acknowledge the gun industry found loopholes and that dangerous weapons do remain on U.S. streets. But they argue that without the ban, the problem will grow worse.
New York Democrat Sen. Charles Schumer said letting a successful law expire reminded him of "Alice in Wonderland," and called the NRA influence "a dysfunction in our politics."
Representatives from law enforcement groups gathered in a Senate hearing room to urge lawmakers to switch course and renew the ban. They had hoped to gather at a national memorial to slain officers but rain forced them inside.
Several of the chiefs spoke of how their officers are already outgunned by the bad guys, and fear it will be even worse after next week if drug dealers, gang members, or even people on U.S. terror watch lists can legally purchase these lethal weapons.
"They are a threat to the safety of our dedicated police officers and the public," said Washington, D.C. police chief Charles Ramsey.
"We're sick and tired of picking up young bodies off our streets," said Richard Pennington, Atlanta's police chief and a top leader of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. "We're sick and tired of seeing our young people getting killed and destroyed, injured and maimed on our streets."
Several pro-ban lawmakers repeated their call for President Bush to speak out for the continued prohibition on these weapons. Bush in his 2000 campaign backed the ban but has not worked for its extension.
DeLay said, "If the president asked me, it'd still be no.. It will expire Monday, and that's that." (Additional reporting by Thomas Ferraro)
Copyright 2004 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Har Har.
Where did all the "assault weapons" go back in 1994 just after the ban? Is the reasoning that just because they passed the AWB, "assault weapons" magically disappeared? And they will magically re-appear after the sunset? I just don't understand their "reasoning".