| hrdwareguy |
03-03-2004 04:47 AM |
Common Sense Wins out over Assault Weapons
Well, it looks like the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 will sunset in September of this year and we can all get back to buying high capacity mags for less than an arm and a leg.
Linky
Quote:
Senate shoots down gun liability bill
By SAM BISHOP News-Miner Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON--Alaska's senators and 88 others killed a bill that would have made it harder to sue gun dealers and manufacturers after a narrow majority added amendments that also would have extended an assault weapons ban and required background checks for buyers at gun shows.
The Senate voted down the bill 90-8 after Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, said the amendments were too much to accept. Craig was the underlying bill's lead sponsor and said after its rejection that he would continue his efforts to stop lawsuits against gun dealers and manufacturers who had no part in crimes committed with their weapons.
"It deserves to be voted up or down by the Senate," he said.
Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, said the bill would have been doomed in the House of Representatives even if the Senate had passed it. With the assault weapons ban extension and the gun show checks, the House Republican leadership would never have scheduled it for a floor vote.
"To have them accept those amendments shows a lack of leadership on the Senate side. I think the bill is absolutely right the way it is," Young said in a meeting with Alaska media Tuesday.
The House passed a gun liability bill last year 285-140 without the assault gun ban or gun show checks.
The Senate had been expected to pass Craig's version easily this week, as it had been endorsed by several Democrats, including Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota. That was before the minority was able to attract enough Republican votes to add the assault weapons and background check amendments.
Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Ted Stevens, both R-Alaska, voted against both amendments. After the amendments passed, though, they took Craig's advice and voted against the final bill.
The assault weapon ban, imposed a decade ago on 19 weapons, expires in September unless Congress renews it. The Senate amendment to extend the ban, introduced by California's Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, passed 52-47 on Tuesday.
Last week, Murkowski said that she wasn't sure how she would vote on the assault weapon ban because she didn't know if the amendment would just extend the ban or if it had other provisions.
The amendment passed Tuesday would have simply extended the ban, according to a Feinstein spokesman.
In debate leading up to the vote, Craig said statistics show the assault weapon ban has not affected the weapons used by criminals.
"It has simply set up a trip wire for law-abiding citizens," he said.
Stolen guns traded on a black market fuel most of what little assault weapon crime there is, he said.
Feinstein disagreed, saying Monday at a news conference that the legislation "has reduced the proportion of banned assault weapons traced to crime by two-thirds."
Feinstein said the public wants the ban.
"Seventy-seven percent of the American people support it. Sixty-six percent of gun owners support it. And yet, it is an uphill battle to get it reauthorized. You would think it would be a no-brainer," she said.
"Why is it so hard?" she asked. "It is hard because the NRA opposes any regulations on any weapons anywhere in the country--no matter how sensible. In my book, that is just plain wrong. It is time to stand up to the NRA."
The National Rifle Association, in its material on the issue, says the number of crimes in which assault weapons are used is so small that banning them is useless. Murders by clubs, knives and hands outnumber assault weapon murders by 20-1, the group states.
"The ban never worked to begin with," Young said. "It was all a charade put on by Bill Clinton. Anybody who looked at the facts and figures, they would understand what really is occurring here. This is a political gambit."
Murkowski and Stevens also voted against an amendment that would require sellers at gun shows to conduct background checks like those required of dealers.
Craig again argued that the background checks were an unnecessary burden upon law-abiding citizens. Less than 2 percent of the guns used in crimes come from gun shows, Craig said.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., listed several terrorists who had been charged with buying weapons at gun shows. One operative for the Irish Republican Army bought more than $100,000 worth of weapons at Florida gun shows to ship overseas, he said.
"They were arrested. How many were not arrested?" McCain said of his list. "The loophole exists and if we're interested in the security of this nation, we'll close it."
The gun show background check amendment, which McCain sponsored, passed 53-46.
With the assault weapon ban and the gun show background checks, the gun makers' liability bill lost most of its Republican support. At the same time, most Democrats voted against it because they believe the liability provisions could prevent legitimate lawsuits against dealers that close their eyes to the bad intentions of people who buy their guns.
Last week, President George Bush said he opposed adding the assault weapon ban extension to the bill. Critics accused him of reneging on his campaign promise to support an extension. His spokesmen said the president just didn't want the amendment added because it would endanger the underlying gun liability bill.
Washington, D.C., reporter Sam Bishop can be reached at sbishop@newsminer.com or (202) 662-8721.
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Looks like it would have passed if they wouldn't have tacked it on to the liability bill along with the gunshow loophole. Whoever thought it was a good idea to ban guns because of the manufacturer or the cosmetic appearances was just plain stupid. |
