Brady Campaign Seeks Court Order to Stop Justice Department from Allowing New Assault Weapons

releases.usnewswire.com ^

[chance33_98]

Brady Campaign Seeks Court Order to Stop Justice Department from Allowing New Assault Weapons

4/7/2004 11:32:00 AM

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To: National Desk

Contact: Rob Wilcox of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence united with the Million Mom March, 202-898-0792

WASHINGTON, April 7 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence united with the Million Mom March today filed papers in federal court seeking a preliminary injunction barring the Justice Department and its Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) from continuing their illegal policy of authorizing the manufacture of new semiautomatic assault weapons. In 1994, Congress banned the manufacture of assault weapons for civilian use, a statute that will expire in September of this year, unless Congress acts to renew it.

The request for an injunction follows the filing, last month, of a lawsuit by the Brady Campaign contesting the government's policy of allowing gun manufacturers to make new "receivers" to replace damaged receivers on assault weapons that were possessed before the 1994 Assault Weapons Act went into effect and thus were protected by the Act's "grandfather" clause. The Brady Campaign today requested that an injunction be issued that would remain in effect until the litigation is finally resolved.

The lawsuit is based on the special legal status of a gun's receiver, which is the housing for the firing mechanism of the gun and is stamped with a serial number unique to each gun. Under the Assault Weapons Act, the receiver of an assault weapon is considered the gun itself. Therefore, by allowing gun makers to manufacture new receivers, often with new serial numbers, ATF has been allowing the manufacture of new assault weapons, in violation of the statute. According to the suit, the government's policy is undermining the expectation of Congress that the number of grandfathered assault weapons would gradually decline, as the guns became nonfunctional due to wear and tear. The lawsuit is supported by documents obtained from ATF by the Brady Campaign under the Freedom of Information Act showing that ATF, at least since 1997, has been permitting gun makers to make new receivers.

"Every new assault weapon manufactured with the Justice Department's stamp of approval is a new killing machine available to criminals and terrorists," said Dennis Henigan, Director of the Brady Center's Legal Action Project. "The Bush Administration repeatedly insists it is aggressively enforcing our gun laws and that it supports renewal of the assault weapon ban. Yet its policy undermines enforcement of this life-saving law by putting more assault weapons in our neighborhoods."

The lawsuit, filed March 18 in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, charges Attorney General John Ashcroft and ATF with allowing gun makers to violate the statute based on information contained in the documents obtained through FOIA. Those documents included private correspondence between ATF and Bushmaster Firearms of Windham, Maine in which ATF repeatedly gave Bushmaster permission to manufacture new "receivers" to replace damaged receivers for semiautomatic assault weapons that were possessed before the Assault Weapons Act went into effect in 1994 and thus were protected by the Act's "grandfather" clause.

The documents show that ATF has authorized Bushmaster to manufacture repeated new illegal assault weapons since 1997 -- but Bushmaster is only one of many gun manufacturers who made assault weapons before the Act was passed. It is likely, therefore, that ATF has allowed thousands of illegal assault weapons to be manufactured.

[BenLurkin]

Brady was shot with a .22 revolver IIRC.

[MrB]

After the sunset occurs,

can an individual legally buy the parts for a hi-cap magazine and assemble it for their own use?

I've seen these "replacement parts" available for some time now, but with the admonition that you'd better have the original, pre-ban magazine parts available for inspection or go to prison for "manufacturing" banned components.

[longtermmemmory]

IOW the brady campaing was accomplishing the taking by attrition of age. They did not anticipate that people would keep their guns in good repair.

In September this lawsuit becomes moot. This election is too close to allow the sunset not to happen.

[Saundra Duffy]

From my cold dead hands.

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[Joe Brower]

[looscnnn]

"Under the Assault Weapons Act, the receiver of an assault weapon is considered the gun itself. Therefore, by allowing gun makers to manufacture new receivers, often with new serial numbers, ATF has been allowing the manufacture of new assault weapons, in violation of the statute."

So in that line of thinking, if you replace the engine in your car you have a new car. Thus, you should be able to reset the odometer to 0 and sell it at a new car price.

[azcap]

Somewhere in America is an entrepreneurial gunsmith/machine shop that is producing the dies, and stamps they will need in September. When the ban expires they will flood the market with brand new high quality 30 and 40 round magazines. The high prices of the grey market will be smashed and somewhere in America a gunsmith/machine shop owner will begin planning his retirement.

[itzmygun]

"Every new assault weapon manufactured with the Justice Department's stamp of approval is a new killing machine available to criminals and terrorists,"

And every new Brady/MM member is an idiot who has no qualms about wiping their [..ahem!..] on our Constitution.

[pop-aye]

Don't use logic on them.. it just confuses them and causes their blood pressure to rise.

[Atlas Sneezed]

You would be able to buy them, assemble them, make them, and even start your own factory. You would even be able to buy, own, and use any of the magazines currently marked "law enforcement only."

I propose that in the event the ban is repealed, instead of referring to "high-cap" (or more properly "full cap") magazines and 10 round magazines, we refer to "standard" magazines (ones with the full capacity designed for the gun) and "CLINTON MAGS", which will be the unwanted, worthless, functionally undersized, puny magazines.

[looscnnn]

" it just confuses them and causes their blood pressure to rise."

That is the whole idea. If they are confused, they can't think straight and then anything they say will really make them look like the idiots they are. If their blood pressure raises, they can have strokes and heart attacks thus effectively eliminating them from the debate.

[looscnnn]

Sounds good to me.

[looscnnn]

Almost forgot, I can't wait for the November gun show (expecting the AWB to sunset). Oh the goodies we will get to peruse and purchase. Gaaaaaa, sorry I was drooling.

[Travis McGee]

Five months to sunset.

[VeniVidiVici]

Brady was shot with a .22 revolver IIRC.

Close. It was a .22 assault revolver.

[BenLurkin]

Well . . . it did have a 'pistol grip'.

[Sender]

God I hate these people. I bet even ATF hates these people. Why can't they go back to saving endangered toads or something?

[2nd_Amendment_Defender]

After the stupid Clinton gun ban goes away, I will finally be able to get another thirteen round Glock .40 S&W magazine for a decent price. Right now they are running around $80.