Kerry Blasts Bush Refusal To Extend Gun Ban
Some Automatic Weapons To Be Available Legally

POSTED: 6:49 am EDT September 13, 2004
UPDATED: 1:50 pm EDT September 13, 2004

John Kerry says President George W. Bush is going back on a promise by not pushing for an extension of the assault weapons ban.


The Democratic presidential nominee said Bush sided with "powerful friends in the gun lobby" over police officers and families "that he promised to protect."
Find Out More: Info On Ban

In Kerry's words, the president "made the job of terrorists easier and made the job of America's police officers harder and that's just plain wrong."

Kerry also criticized the president for proposing deep cuts to the Community Oriented Policing Services program, known as COPS. The program provides grants to state and local agencies to hire police officers.

The assault weapons ban is expiring as the Justice Department reports that the nation's crime rate last year held steady at the lowest levels in the 31 years since the government began surveying crime victims.

His criticism came as he outlined a $5 billion plan to fight crime. Appearing at the same event, gun control advocate Sarah Brady said, "George W. Bush shame on you for making this decision."

Mixed Emotions

Monday's expiration of the 10-year-old federal ban on assault weapons doesn't mean it's open season for gun dealers and enthusiasts.


Weapons Ban To Be Lifted  





Firearms like the TEC-9 can now be legally purchased, but 19 other weapons -- including foreign-made automatics like the AK-47 and Uzi -- are still prohibited under a 1989 import ban that remains in effect.

Congress took no action to renew the 10-year ban, despite the pleas by Brady. She and several law enforcement officials lobbied unsuccessfully last week for an extension.  ( also its not like brady was shot with an assault rifle, he was shot at with a damn .22 pistol,  So what didn't they ban .22 pistols.

She said at a news conference that assault weapons are a threat to public safety and the domestic war on terrorism.

Joseph Polisar is the police chief of Garden Grove, Calif., and president of the International Association of Police Chiefs. He said assault weapons have no legitimate use in the community. They have been used in the killing this year of more than a dozen police officers.

The head of the National Rifle Association is hailing the expiration of the assault weapons ban. NRA executive Wayne LaPierre said on CBS's "The Early Show" that the differences between assault weapons and guns marketed before the ban expired are "cosmetic."

However, Brady said these guns allow large capacity magazines to be added to them with up to 50 bullet cartridges.

She's blaming Bush for the expiration of the ban. She said he could have shown leadership by asking Congress to extend it.

Brady said he and other politicians were more interested in "special interest endorsements" than in the welfare of law enforcers.

LaPierre said many Democrats who supported the ban in 1994 now think it cost them House control in that year's elections.

Idaho Republican U.S. Rep. Butch Otter is delighted. He said the ban -- signed into law by President Bill Clinton 10 years ago -- "was nothing more than a sop to antigun liberals."

But advocates for the ban -- including the Brady Campaign -- point to shootings in which military-style weapons were used. The 2002 sniper shootings in the Washington area are among them.

Studies have conflicting results on whether the ban helped reduce crime. Loopholes allowed manufacturers to keep many weapons on the market simply by changing their names or altering some of their features or accessories.

Gun shop owners said the expiration will have little effect on the types of guns they sell. But one Maryland dealer said it could result in sharply lower prices for some weapons.

Assault-Style Firearms Banned

The 19 named assault-style firearms banned under a 1994 law that expires Monday:
AK-47 and all models of the Norinco, Mitchell and Poly Technologies Avtomat Kalashnikovs, designed in the former Soviet Union. ( I'm sorry I bought a AK-47 3 years ago and it came with a 30 round clip and was brand new)

Uzi and Galil, both made by Action Arms Israeli Military Industries.
TEC-9, TEC-22 and TEC-DC9, manufactured by Intratec.
SWD M-10, M-11, M-11-9 and M-12. Based on the design of the MAC-10, their full-automatic cousin, these assault pistols are designed to fire many bullets over a wide area in seconds. ( well ya if you can pull the trigger really really fast.)
Street Sweeper and Striker 12 and other revolving cylinder semiautomatic shotguns.
Beretta AR-70 and SC-70, used by armed forces in a number of countries including Italy, Jordan and Malaysia.
Colt AR-15, the civilian version of the M-16 rifle that is the U.S. military's standard-issue rifle.
Several weapons manufactured by Fabrique Nationale, the FN-FAL, FN-LAR and FNC. The guns are used by the armed forces of more than 90 countries.
Steyr AUG, a rifle made in Germany.

All I have to say is LOL.  So wheres the automatics I can purchase without having to pay 9K+ 200 per transfer

Magazine Dude, Magazine. Not Clip.

Yes the media are mostly idiots.  They simply do not have the basic level of understanding of most of the issues they report on, weapons included, to give a reasonable account.

Even FoxNews this morning, our favorite news outlet no ?  They completely overhyped the "automatic assault weapons" misinformation, implying that full-auto AK-47s, Uzis, and TEC-9s will be available now that the ban has ended.

Not a MENTION of the 'cosmetic feature' aspect of the ban.

why the hell do I call them clips.  Guess I watch too many damn action movies.  Sorry Magazine

Watching Dayside today on Fox it was the same old crap. AK-47s and Uzis will be flooding our streets. Some RINO from New England says that in today world we don't need to defend ourselves, we have cops and the military to do that.

I am frankly tired of all of it..

Currently, each major news source has a link to a story on the AWB expiration. Each story is a version of the same AP story complete with the picture of the guy in Boise, ID holding the Mini-14. . Here's how each one shows the link on their main page.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-09-12-weapons-ban_x.htm

AK-47s, Uzis can be sold.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/09/12/gun.ban.ap/index.html

AK-47s, Uzis and TEC-9s legal again after today

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20040913_412.html

Ban Ends AK-47s, Uzis for sale.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5946127/

Congress lets assault weapons ban expire

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,132184,00.html

Military-style rifles to be legally sold once again at midnight after 10-year-old law expires

I am having a hard time watching TV, reading the newspaper or following any Internet news sites.  There is so much bad information going around today that I cannot stand it!

I have made more phone calls to radio stations and I have sent more emails to CNN, Fox and others trying to spread good information.

The problem is that they don't want good information.  They want to spread lies and make people panic so that they vote for Kerry.

I gotta go, I hear the ice cream man coming!

Quoted: I gotta go, I hear the ice cream man coming!

Dude, buy me a couple of Uzis and AK47s for me will ya.

Quoted: There are a LOT of people totally ignorant about how the government is structured, and reality challenged in general. The president cannot do anything without Congress sending him a bill.  They are the legislative branch, he is the Chief Executive. The general population have elevated the Office of the President to a Kinglike status.  Remember when the calls were "Why doesn't he DO SOMETHING about the economy?" Nobody considers that he can't just fix the economy without private companies helping out, and he only signs the Fed budget. Then the people complain about a tax cut/stimulus package because they aren't directly getting money.

These are the same stupid f'cking people who can't seem to understand why Al Gore lost since he got all of the popular votes. They don't seem to understand the Constitutional process of the electorial votes. But the news media doesn't help it too much either when they keep a running count of all the total popular votes in the USA for a presidental candidate.

Quoted: These are the same stupid f'cking people who...

...think that John Kerry is a hunter/2nd Amendment supporter.