Inicio de la páginaGun Policy News, 10 September 2004
Critics Say Embargo Lift May Make Security Worse
10 September 2004
National Catholic Reporter (USA)
Iraq, once restrained by some of the severest military sanctions, can now buy its own weapons thanks to a little-publicized provision of the United Nations Security Council that lifted a 14-year arms embargo on the country. The provision is included in a U.N. resolution, unanimously passed last June, legitimizing the new Iraqi interim government.
The removal of the arms embargo, instituted to enable Iraq to refurbish its arsenal and take responsibility for its security... (GunPolicy.org)
Sniper Settlement Not a Victory for Gun Control, Says Gunmaker
10 September 2004
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A gun manufacturer in Maine says its decision to pay $550,000 to settle claims by relatives of victims of the Washington, D.C., area sniper shootings is NOT a victory for gun control advocates.
Bushmaster Firearms of Windham did not admit fault and said it settled because of escalating legal fees and the dwindling amount of insurance money it had left for the case.
Bushmaster said it supports federal laws requiring dealers to be licensed and has no... (GunPolicy.org)
Expired Assault Gun Ban Will Leave Us Vulnerable
10 September 2004
San Francisco Chronicle, Opinion
Chalk up another one for the National Rifle Association. Because of the organization's enormous political influence, Congress and President Bush are poised to allow the 10-year-old federal assault-weapons ban to expire after midnight Monday. As a result, military-style firearms like semi- automatic AK-47s and Uzis will be legal again nationwide, unless banned by state or local laws.
We should be deeply disturbed by this turn of events. Assault weapons are a class of... (GunPolicy.org)
Senator Confuses Will of the People With Will of the NRA
10 September 2004
Providence Journal (Rhode Island), Editorial
The 10-year-old ban on assault weapons will expire Monday, with barely a peep from our representatives in Congress. President Bush says he supports the ban. But, in an election-year attempt to have it both ways, he has not lifted a finger to ensure the measure's renewal.
This week, police chiefs, gun victims and other supporters of the ban flocked to Washington in a last-ditch plea for common sense. They met with a giant shrug. Republican Bill Frist of Tennessee, the... (GunPolicy.org)
Assault Gun Ban's Effect is Debated
10 September 2004
New York Times
ArmaLite Inc., a maker of a civilian version of the military's M-16 rifle, came up with what it thought would be a way to capitalize on the expiration of the 10-year-old ban on semiautomatic assault weapons.
For an advance payment, the company offered on its Web site to set aside kits with all the parts for an authentic "pre-ban" rifle, complete with its military accessories, and to ship a fully assembled version to customers after the ban expires, which it is set to... (GunPolicy.org)
Jail for Criminals Who Converted Hundreds of Blank Firers
10 September 2004
BBC News
Two men were jailed on Friday for conspiring to supply hundreds of firearms to London's underworld.
But Stephen Herbert said he was delighted to receive only six years for selling 574 guns to criminals.
As he was being led out of the dock at the Old Bailey, Herbert told Judge David Paget: "That's lovely. Thanks very much — we got away with that."
Herbert, 45, and his partner Gary Beard, 47, had faced up to 10 years in jail.
Both pleaded guilty to conspiracies... (GunPolicy.org)
'It Makes Me Sick to My Stomach', from Feinstein's Senate Speech
10 September 2004
Los Angeles Times, Opinion
Dianne Feinstein, a Democratic U.S. senator from California, is the chief sponsor of the renewal of the assault weapons ban. This article is adapted from comments made Tuesday on the Senate floor.
Ten years ago, Congress passed the assault weapons ban, one of the most important public safety measures this country has seen. Although it was not perfect, it represented the best we could do to stem the growth and spread of these weapons throughout our cities and states.... (GunPolicy.org)
Kerry Says Bush's Assault Gun Stance Aids Terrorists
10 September 2004
Reuters
ST. LOUIS — Democratic candidate John Kerry on Friday said President Bush's failure to fight for a renewal of a ban on assault weapons will make it easier for terrorists to get the lethal weapons.
Campaigning in Missouri, where he trails Bush in opinion polls less than two months before the Nov. 2 election, Kerry said as a hunter and outdoorsman he vowed he would never try to change the Second Amendment to the Constitution giving Americans the right to bear... (GunPolicy.org)
Our Politicians Vote for the NRA, Not Us
10 September 2004
Wilmington Star News (North Carolina), Editorial
Because American politicians of both major parties are scared to death of the National Rifle Association, it probably will legal Monday to buy what you might call rifles of mass destruction.
You could get one for your collection. Someone else might get one to mow down a lot of people in a few seconds.
The argument against the existing law banning certain rifles is that it's so full of loopholes that it's had little or no effect; that the difference between legal and... (GunPolicy.org)
Lea el artículo entero : Wilmington Star News (North Carolina)
Even 78% of Texan Gun Owners Want the Assault Gun Ban Extended
10 September 2004
Scripps Howard News Service (USA)
Eighty percent of Texans — including 78 percent with guns in their homes — want Congress to renew the assault weapons ban that is set to expire Monday, according to the Scripps Howard Texas Poll.
Fifteen percent of Texans oppose renewing the ban.
"Americans will die if the assault ban sunsets," said Eric Howard, spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, a gun control advocacy group.
Texans support the ban because they don't understand the weapons... (GunPolicy.org)
10 September 2004
Hampton Roads Daily Press (Virginia)
Lorraine Price spent most of this week e-mailing supporters to drum up support for extending a ban on certain assault weapons.
The current ban expires Monday, and Republican congressional leaders have said there would be no vote to extend it. Price, who is head of the Hampton Roads branch of the Million Mom March — an organization that promotes strengthening the country's gun laws — said the ban is needed to ensure that such weapons don't end up on the street and... (GunPolicy.org)
Lea el artículo entero : Hampton Roads Daily Press (Virginia)
Dealers Say Gun Ban Meant Little
10 September 2004
Indianapolis Star (Indiana)
Firearms dealers in Central Indiana say they don't expect to be deluged with customers when a 10-year federal ban on the production and sales of military-style weapons expires Monday.
"There is not going to be a major rush on this stuff because it was all here before," said Mike Hilton, owner of Pop Guns on the Far Eastside, explaining that the banned weapons were replaced by firearms that were nearly identical but within the law. "They kept making things that looked... (GunPolicy.org)
10 September 2004
Philadelphia Inquirer, Editorial
Would the National Rifle Association dismiss the brutal slaying of three Birmingham, Ala., police officers this summer with a military assault rifle as "nothing more than a sad footnote in America's history?"
That's actually the NRA's description of the 10-year-old federal assault-weapons ban.
In urging Congress to do something appalling — allow the ban to expire as of Monday — the NRA vowed to "pull out all the stops … to ensure [that] this ban … becomes... (GunPolicy.org)
Bush is Being Disingenuous on Assault Guns
10 September 2004
Baltimore Sun, Editorial
Absent a miracle, the 10-year-old federal ban on assault weapons will expire on Monday. It's a particularly sad day for gun owners. It signals the rise of a foolish, extremist view of gun ownership rights that defies common sense and isn't shared by the majority. But one of the law's most visible supporters will probably not mourn its passing.
Four years ago, candidate George W. Bush stated his unequivocal support for the renewal of the assault weapons ban. It didn't... (GunPolicy.org)
Supporters of Gun Ban Lament Its Expiration
10 September 2004
San Francisco Chronicle
WASHINGTON — It's easy for Steve Sposato of Lafayette, whose wife Jody was among eight people slain 11 years ago in a San Francisco office building at 101 California St. by a man armed with two semiautomatic guns, to remember exactly where he was on Sept. 13, 1994.
But it's not easy for Sposato to get over his anger at what seems almost sure to happen on Monday, Sept. 13, 2004.
Ten years ago, Sposato stood on the White House South Lawn as President Bill Clinton... (GunPolicy.org)
10 September 2004
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON — With a 10-year ban on assault weapons due to expire Monday, Congress is about to allow a remarkable reversal: once demonized semiautomatic weapons will again be sold to the public.
Around the nation, manufacturers now prohibited from selling the weapons are competing to reap the most out of their return. Beretta USA Corp. is offering two free large-volume magazines with the purchase of certain guns. ArmaLite Inc. is inviting gun buyers to start placing... (GunPolicy.org)
Assault Gun Ban Was Useless Anyway, Claims Lott
10 September 2004
Los Angeles Times, Opinion
With the federal assault weapons ban sunsetting on Monday at midnight, the gun-control movement has a lot to fear, but not what most people think. Despite claims that letting the 10-year-old ban on some semiautomatic weapons expire will result in a surge in gun crimes and police killings, the fact is that letting the law expire will probably just show the uselessness of gun-control regulations. A year from now it will be obvious to everyone that all the horror stories... (GunPolicy.org)