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A move to reinstate a federal ban on assault weapons now has a new co-sponsor on Capitol Hill, and he says last week’s murder of Philadelphia police officer Stephen Liczbinski is what prompted him to act. Suburban US congressman Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) admits that the plan has been in the pipeline for months, and concedes that its chances for passage this term are slim. But Sestak (in file photo above) insists that the Liczbinski slaying merely prompted him to act on a measure he’s always supported: "There’s no need to have our law enforcement officers having to feel like they’re...

Days after a Philadelphia police sergeant was killed with a semi-automatic rifle, Mayor Nutter and Gov. Rendell called upon Congress to enact a new federal assault-weapons ban that would remove such weapons from the streets."The time has come for politicians to decide," said Rendell at the City Hall news conference attended by top police brass and state elected officials. "You have to decide whether you're on their side - the men and women who wear blue - or whether you're on the side of the gun lobby."The federal assault-weapons ban, which lasted from 1994 through 2004, outlawed an array of...

When a rash of gun murders takes place, it makes sense for the police to do one of two things: renew tactics that have been effective in the past at curbing homicides, or embrace ideas that have not been tried before. But those options don't appeal to Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis. What he proposes is a crackdown on assault weapons. I'm tempted to say this is the moral equivalent of a placebo—a sugar pill that is irrelevant to the malady at hand. But that would be unfair. Placebos, after all, sometimes have a positive effect. Assault weapons bans, not...

My biggest fears may be realized. I don't post vanities too often, but this issue has kept me up most of the night. The ramifications of the shooting in Omaha have yet to be felt and what follows is something that we all need to consider and prepare to combat. Earlier this year I made the prediction there would be a mass killing by another ‘troubled’ teen with an ‘assault’ weapon on the innocent, in this case an SKS in Omaha. It would occur in a large setting where CCW was not allowed and once again set off the Assault...

LADSON, S.C., Nov. 24 — Joe McCormick, a burly man over six feet tall, a World War II-era Mauser rifle at his side, said he was frightened. “Giuliani scares me,” Mr. McCormick said of Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination. “What does a mayor of New York know about guns?” Fred D. Thompson, who was about 30 yards away — just past the “Confederate Cutlery” collection of knives, fingering an M-1 rifle at the Land of Sky Gun Show here Saturday — was more his kind of candidate. Mr....

Rudolph W. Giuliani will go before the rank and file of the National Rifle Association on Friday, seeking support for his Republican presidential campaign from a group he once likened to "extremists" for its efforts to repeal the ban on assault weapons. But even as the former New York mayor strives to burnish his Second Amendment credentials at the gathering in Washington, a panel of federal judges in his home town will be hearing arguments on the lawsuit that Giuliani filed seven years ago aimed at punishing the nation's gun manufacturers for violent crimes involving firearms. Announcing the lawsuit in...

Three top Republican presidential contenders took fire from their second-tier rivals and traded digs on Tuesday, with Rudolph Giuliani defending his abortion rights support and John McCain and Mitt Romney trying to burnish their conservative credentials. In the second debate in two weeks between the 10 men vying for the 2008 Republican nomination, Giuliani, McCain and Romney -- "Rudy McRomney" to their detractors -- tried to ease doubts among conservatives about their records. The 90-minute session in conservative South Carolina featured a sharp exchange between front-runner Giuliani and longshot Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who said America's Middle East policies...

Democrat John Edwards said Tuesday that he worked for a hedge fund between presidential campaigns to learn about financial markets and their relationship to poverty—and to make money too. In an interview with The Associated Press, the former North Carolina senator said his yearlong, part-time position with Fortress Investment Group helped his understanding of the connection but he has more to learn. Edwards has made eradicating poverty a focus of his second White House bid. Edwards, a multimillionaire after years as a trial lawyer, would not disclose how much he got paid for a year of consulting beginning in October...

House Bill No. 760 was introduced in the State House of representatives last week. The bill was introduced by representatives Cruz, Youngblood, Parker, Wheatley, Bennington and Curry. The legislation calls for every gun in Pennsylvania to be registered with the state, and each registration must be renewed annually. The registration would cost the gun owner $10 per gun each year. The bill also calls for each gun owner to be fingerprinted, have a back ground check, and to submit pass port-style photos for registration cards. The registration card for each gun would then have to be carried with that gun...

US excludes AWB after Iraq probe AWB was the largest single supplier of humanitarian goods to Iraq Australia's wheat exporter AWB has been suspended from US government contracts and faces permanent exclusion, for paying bribes to Iraq's former regime.The step was taken "based on evidence of illicit activities", said US Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns. Last month, a judicial inquiry found AWB broke UN oil-for-food programme rules by paying Saddam Hussein $222m (£112m) to secure contracts. It also recommended that 11 former AWB executives face corruption charges. The high-profile commission inquiry, chaired by former judge Terence Cole, cleared the Australian...

I haven't checked out the two above forums in a while, and when I did last night, there seemed to be alot of talk, especially on calguns.net, about AR-15's now being legal in CA due to a court case called Harrott. Does anyone have any specifics on this, especially the chronology of events?

After ditching one city because of its restrictive gun rules, the National Rifle Association said Thursday that it intends to bring the group's annual convention in 2007 to St. Louis. The gun laws here, it said, are more accommodating. St. Louis initially was not even a finalist for the event. But last month, the NRA abruptly canceled plans to go to Columbus, Ohio, blaming the city's recent passage of an assault weapons ban. Commitments to book thousands of hotel rooms and even the public announcement of a deal evaporated. "Obviously this shows (Columbus politicians') disinterest in having the NRA, our...

Saturday, May 7, 2005 AG's office may probe hate mail By PAUL CARRIER, Portland Press Herald Writer Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. E-mail this story to a friend AUGUSTA — The Attorney General's Office is deciding whether to launch a formal investigation into three pieces of hate mail sent to Sen. Ethan Strimling, D-Portland, at the State House. Chuck Dow, the spokesman for Attorney General Steven Rowe, said Friday that Rowe's office is "reviewing" the mailings, all three of which have April postmarks from Portland. The unsigned mailings contain derogatory references to Jews and chastise Strimling, whose father...

Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise to speak about a common sense bill that will protect American citizens and law enforcement officers. The Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act is designed to restore and strengthen the ban on assault weapons that expired on September 13, 2004. The Government Accountability Office recently reported that 47 people on the terrorist watch list legally purchased firearms in this country last year. I personally believe that a person on the terrorist watch list, who isn't allowed to board a commercial airliner, should not be able to purchase any weapon. But they especially...

The Oregon State Legislature will soon be considering a bill that would outlaw semiautomatic "assault rifles" and large-capacity magazines and require registration of these items purchased before the bill's effective date. However, any attempt to prohibit an individual citizen's right to own a firearm represents a gross misunderstanding not only of U.S. Constitutional Law, but also of the basic principles of human nature that caused the Framers to specifically pronounce that right in the Second Amendment to the Constitution. Every constitutional scholar recognizes that the Framers composed the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution as a reaction to the...

Monday, December 20, 2004 TO: USF & NRA Members & Friends FROM: Marion P. Hammer Unified Sportsmen of Florida Executive Director NRA Past President SUBJECT: SB-500 It has started !! The threat by the Brady Campaign/Million Mom Marchers to reenact the Clinton Gun Ban state by state has started with Florida. The first Gun Ban bill has been filed for the 2005 Florida Legislative Session which begins in March 2005. The bill has not been referred to committees yet. We will notify members when it has been referenced and will provide email addresses to legislators you need to contact to...

Sen. Zell Miller urges gun-rights audience to support Bush campaign CONCORD - With the sound of stock cars zooming by as a backdrop, Democratic U.S. Sen. Zell Miller of Georgia Friday urged gun owners to support President Bush's re-election. Miller spoke as part of a National Rifle Association rally at Lowe's Motor Speedway before the Busch Series SpongeBob 300 race. It was the influential gun lobby's first rally in conjunction with a NASCAR race, said Chris Cox, the organization's chief lobbyist. Former President Bill Clinton has credited the group with Al Gore's defeat in the 2000 election. "NASCAR nation is...

This is a WorldNetDaily printer-friendly version of the article which follows. To view this item online, visit http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=40699 Thursday, September 30, 2004 The media that couldn't shoot straight Posted: September 30, 20041:00 a.m. Eastern By Larry Elder © 2004 Laurence A. Elder Can Americans now purchase assault weapons? If you listen to some pols and mainstream media, you probably cannot answer that question. In 1994, Congress passed and President Clinton signed a 10-year ban on so-called "assault weapons." In reality, the bill outlawed certain semiautomatic weapons with cosmetic features that made them look, well, military. The law banned the manufacture and...

The federal ban on semiautomatic rifles — i.e. “assault weapons” — was allowed to expire earlier this month, the collective inaction of both Congress and the Bush administration. The passing of this legislation, however well-intentioned, is hardly lamented. For starters, the ban was not really needed when it was implemented 10 years ago. Prior to the law’s passage, these so-called “assault” weapons, rifles mostly, were used in fewer than 1 percent of all violent crimes. These numbers have not changed, even though Americans still own more than 30 million legal semiautomatic firearms. As the law enforcement community has determined, it’s...

WARNING: The page you have accessed is dependent on JAVASCRIPT which is not supported by your browser. Due to this limitation, you may experience unexpected results within this site. Trigger Happy The NRA outguns its opponents.by Katherine Mangu-Ward 09/27/2004, Volume 010, Issue 03 SOMETHING HAPPENED last week that sent reporters across the country scurrying for the nearest gun shop. A ban on certain assault weapons, signed into law by President Clinton in 1994, expired on Monday. Though Bush said he wanted to see the ban extended, there was only coy silence from the White House and the Republican-dominated Congress...

Despite the hyperbole of some anti-gun forces, don’t expect our streets to suddenly fill with new and dangerous weapons now that Congress has refused to re-enact a ban on so-called assault weapons. That’s because the decade-old ban was always more about symbolism than eliminating dangerous weapons. For instance, a news report out of Denver Tuesday told of people eagerly lining up to purchase AR-15 rifles at a local gun store once the ban was lifted. But the AR-15 — a semiautomatic, small-caliber rifle — was never prohibited under the ban enacted during the first Clinton term. However, certain configurations were...

A 10-year-old federal ban on assault weapons expired earlier this week with little chance that a vote to reestablish it will be brought before congress in the near future. Chris W. Cox, chief lobbyist and executive director of NRA's institute for legislative action, took questions on the association and the expiration of the assault weapons ban. The transcript follows. Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. Chris W. Cox: Hello, everyone. I'm glad to have the opportunity to...

I've been watching John Kerry pretty closely. One thing I've said for some time is -- he is no Algore, thankfully. Gore was famous for the crazy things he said: inventor of the internet, the movie "Love Story" was based upon his marriage, and the list went on and on and on. To this point in time, although John Kerry has run a pretty lame campaign and made some pretty unwise decisions (in my opinion), he hasn't risen to the level of Doofus that Algore did early on. Until last night. Last night on Fox News, in an attempt to...

E-mail Author Send to a Friend <% printurl = Request.ServerVariables("URL")%> Print Version September 13, 2004, 6:30 a.m. Assault-Weapons Ban, R.I.P.Good riddance. By Timothy Wheeler The 1994 federal assault-weapons ban officially dies tonight. It was a bad job from the beginning, a fraudulent piece of legislation pushed through by hard-line gun-control advocates during the glory days of the Clinton era. To get it through Congress, its backers had to agree to a ten-year sunset provision. The law passes quietly into history at midnight. Until the last minute, apologists for the ban have tried desperately to breathe life back into it,...

E-mail Author Author Archive Send to a Friend <% printurl = Request.ServerVariables("URL")%> Print Version September 13, 2004, 6:30 a.m. Bait-'n'-SwitchGun-prohibition lobbyists are after much more than AK-47s. At midnight tonight, the federal ban on so-called "assault weapons" expires. As a constitutional moment, the expiration is as significant for the Second Amendment as the March 3, 1801, expiration of the Alien and Sedition Acts was for the First Amendment. These federal laws were not found unconstitutional by any court, but the laws expired in disgrace because our political system, as expressed through congressional elections, determined them to be infringements on...

Assault Rifle Ban Set to Expire The restriction on the sale of military-type assault weapons will expire on Monday, lacking the support in Congress needed to renew the bill. Originally passed under President Clinton in 1994, the ban was met with an array of vacillating assessments, and, while gun control advocates called it a step in the right direction, the bill was so teeming with loopholes that critics said it merely had a "cosmetic" effect on the rifles manufactured and sold in the United States. Although President Bush acknowledged his support of the bill, or at least his willingness to...

WHAT DO YOU THINK? The 10-year federal ban on assault weapons expires Monday. Should the ban be extended? Yes No

As regressive milestones go, few are as frightful in this new era of homeland security as the decision by Congress and the Bush administration to allow the expiration of the 10-year-old law protecting the public from assault rifles and other rapid-fire battlefield weapons. The law - a far from perfect but demonstrably effective restraint on high-tech gunslingers - expires on Monday with not a whimper from the White House. When George Bush was a candidate four years ago and under campaign pressure from moderates, he announced that he did support the renewal of this highly popular law. It turned out...

Published Friday, September 10, 2004, in Los Angeles Times 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 about the ban — a cornerstone of the gun-control movement —...

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Would you support an extention of the federal ban on assault weapons which will expire next week? Yes 124 (70%) No 52 (30%) Total Votes: 176 Comment: Name: * All submitted comments are subject to approval. Not all comments will be posted.

The Washington Times www.washingtontimes.com Assault-weapons ban set to expireBy Stephen DinanTHE WASHINGTON TIMESPublished September 9, 2004 The assault-weapons ban, passed 10 years ago to prohibit the sale of some firearms, will end next week, and Congress will not move to extend it.     "It will expire Monday, and that's that," House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Texas Republican, told reporters yesterday.     Some police chiefs were in Washington yesterday to lobby for extending the ban, but did not sway congressional leaders, who said there is no room on the schedule. In addition to Mr. DeLay, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Tennessee Republican,...

Gun Makers Already Market Assault Weapons Gun Manufacturers, Facing Federal Ban, Already Marketing Assault Weapons, Study Finds The Associated Press WASHINGTON Sept. 7, 2004 — With the federal ban on assault weapons set to expire next Monday, gun manufacturers are marketing military-style firearms and are ready to sell them as soon as Sept. 14, a consumer group said Tuesday. "The gun industry is champing at the bit for the ban to expire," said Susan Peschin, firearms project director at the Consumer Federation of America, a nonprofit association of 300 consumer groups that released the study. The consumer group interviewed gun...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 - Despite widespread popular support, the federal law banning the sale of 19 kinds of semiautomatic assault weapons is almost certain to expire on Monday, the result of intense lobbying by the National Rifle Association and the complicated election-year politics of Washington. While President Bush has expressed support for legislation extending the ban and has said he would sign it into law, he has not pressured lawmakers to act, leading critics to accuse him of trying to have it both ways. Efforts to renew the ban, which polls show is supported by at least two-thirds of Americans,...

The Washington Times www.washingtontimes.com Inside PoliticsBy Greg PiercePublished September 8, 2004 Kerry misfire?     "Was Dem presidential hopeful John Kerry seen this weekend waving a gun which would have been banned if legislation he co-sponsored became law?" Matt Drudge asks at his Web site (www.drudgereport.com).     "Kerry co-sponsored S. 1431 last year (The Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2003), which would have banned a 'semiautomatic shotgun that has a pistol grip,' " Mr. Drudge said.     "Opponents of the bill successfully argued how nearly all guns have 'pistol grips,' including millions of Browning Auto-5 shotguns produced since 1903.     "Photos...

Morning Editor (CNSNews.com) - Gun control advocates are demanding that President Bush extend the ban on certain "military-style assault weapons" before the law expires on Monday. But Second Amendment groups say the so-called "ban" was pointless from the beginning, because it simply affected cosmetic features -- the way semi-automatic guns look, not the way they operate. "On Monday, September 13th, at midnight, the national ban on military-style assault weapons will expire, allowing these murderous weapons back on our streets," the liberal MoveOn.org said on its website. "Congress is feeling the heat and is prepared to renew the ban, if the...

www.gunowners.orgSep 2004 Just Five More Days Until the Semi-auto Ban Sunsets! -- But Brady Bunch making one last push on the House, Senate and Oval Office Gun Owners of America 8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102 Springfield, VA 22151 (703)321-8585 ACTION: 1. Ask President Bush to resist the efforts of police chiefs, who will be pressing him this week to reauthorize the Clinton semi-auto ban. A pre-written letter is provided below. 2. Celebrate the approaching sunset of the semi-auto ban by buying another gun. While the gun being auctioned below is not a semi-automatic firearm, it is the actual gun that...

Report: Makers Taking Orders Gun manufacturers are gearing up for the scheduled expiration next week of a 10-year-old federal ban on assault weapons and are taking orders for semiautomatic rifles and high-capacity ammunition magazines that may soon become legal again, according to a report released yesterday. The report by the Consumer Federation of America, which favors greater regulation of the gun industry, concludes that "assault weapons will be more lethal and less expensive" without the ban and argues that police "may be forced to adopt a more militaristic approach" as greater numbers of firearms flood the market. The report, based...

RACINE, W.Va., Sept. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a press release regarding the Remington model 11-87 shotgun that Sen. John Kerry recently accepted: At a Labor Day campaign rally yesterday, Sen. John Kerry accepted an ironic gift from a labor union representative. The gift, a Remington model 11-87 shotgun commonly used in hunting and recreational shooting enjoyed by millions of Americans, would be banned as an "assault weapon" under a bill that Kerry is co-sponsoring. "The semi-automatic shotgun that Kerry accepted is one that he'd like to ban under his bill known as 'The Assault Weapons Ban and Law...

The so-called assault-weapons ban is about to sunset. About time. It was one of the goofiest gun laws on the books. It outlawed guns because they look mean — the perfect law for a superficial world. The assault-weapons ban was racial profiling for guns. Before we start, you should know I used to be like you when it came to firearms. I had a religious-like hatred of guns. In fact, I was a member of the anti-gun organization Handgun Control Inc. It was a long slow, conversion for me, spurred by the patient influence of my older brother Paul, who...

FOCUS: ASSAULT WEAPONS With the federal law banning assault weapons about to expire, advocates and opponents question its effectiveness WASHINGTON - A decade after Buffalo led the nation in crimes involving assault weapons - and with the city again plagued with gang-related violence - the federal law banning some of those guns expires Sept. 13. And while some gun-control advocates are up in arms, there's otherwise little outcry about the fact that Congress appears unwilling to renew the ban. Once touted as a sure-fire way to cut crime, the assault-weapons ban now looks like a loophole-ridden partial success even to...

Local candidates and gun owners have different views on the federal assault weapons ban. The ban is set to expire on Sept. 13 and prohibits the sale and possession by citizens of certain semi-automatic weapons. State Rep. Candidate Jeff Crites, R — Lafayette, said he is against having a ban on assault weapons. "The law is saying that we’re not smart enough to train ourselves," Crites said. An Air Force veteran who grew up owning a weapon, Crites said his father and Boy Scouts trained him to use it correctly. However, he did support laws banning those with criminal records...

The end may be near for controversial assault weapon ban. Just looking at the two rifles in David Conway's hands, it might seem easy to pick out the assault weapon banned by federal law for manufacture and sale in the United States. It's not. The ArmaLite M15A2 — a black, metal, military-style rifle with the pistol grip and detachable magazine — looks the part of an outlaw. But it is a legal weapon produced by gun makers today and bought and sold by citizens. The other weapon, a Springfield M1-A, is a more traditional wood-and-metal rifle that doesn't resemble the...

As The Dispatch’s July 26 editorial illustrates, the drumbeat has begun in the media to reauthorize the 1994 ban on assault weapons. Claims that these firearms are criminals’ weapons of choice are false. A congressionally mandated study confirms assault weapons were used in less than 1 percent of violent crime. Even a Washington Post editorial admitted, "Assault weapons play a part in only a small percentage of crime. The provision is mainly symbolic; its virtue will be if it turns out to be, as hoped, a steppingstone to broader gun control." Bill sponsor Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., told CBS’ 60...

Political pressure to do the wrong thing threatens to let the 1994 assault weapons ban expire next month. Assault weapons are only for people-hunters PRESIDENT BUSH says he favors legislation to extend the 1994 assault-weapons ban, which will expire Sept. 13 unless Congress acts. He isn't, however, planning to encourage congressional action because gun issues pose an election-year minefield for some of his friends in the House and Senate. That is surely a fence-sitting position if there ever was one. The assault weapons that fall under the ban are not for hunting or personal protection. They are for the efficient,...

The 1994 semiautomatic or so-called assault weapons ban expires Sept. 13. The media drumbeat to reauthorize it has begun, and some politicians are dancing to the familiar tune. Instead of merely reauthorizing the ban, however, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-L.I.) seeks to ban more guns and implement a national registration scheme. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the assault weapons ban sponsor, said on CBS' "60 Minutes," "If I could have gotten 51 votes in the Senate for an outright ban, picking up every one of them - Mr. and Mrs. America, turn them all in - I would have done it." The...

The other day, Tom McMahon, a Nonpareil staff writer, called me and wanted to talk about the assault weapons ban. An organization had surveyed several Iowa police chiefs in reference to their opinions on the law and if it should be continued. I didn't get back to him for a day or so; and when I did, we traded voice mail for another day. When I finally did talk to him, I'm afraid my answers weren't very concise. This is one topic about which I have real conflicting feelings. The assault weapons ban was enacted in 1994 with a sunset...

KERRY SAYS CALL CONGRESS BACK NOW (FOR SPECIAL SESSION)In Grand Rapids, Michigan Senator Kerry says Congress should be called into a Special Session immediately to address intelligence reform.Kerry reaffirms support for locating National Intelligence Director inside the White House says 'You get more protection for Americans, greater power and leverage to the director, if they are seen as speaking for the President.'White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card said that the new director would have a large staff and there wouldn't be room for them in the White House.President Bush, 'I think it ought to be a stand alone group...

Boston, Mass.--"Our crime policy was to put more police on the streets," Bill Clinton told a cheering Democratic National Convention Monday evening, "and to take assault weapons off the streets." The former President vigorously contrasted his position and that of John Kerry on assault weapons with those of Congress and President Bush [who] are also about to allow the ten-year-old ban on assault weapons to expire. With those remarks, Clinton staked out a strong pro-gun control stance for his party and nominee Kerry this year--one that is sure to fuel pro-Bush activities by the National Rifle Association, the Gun Owners...

BOSTON Democrats begin their national convention today united on many issues, but divided on how much to make of the Bush administration's refusal to push for an extension of the 10-year-old ban on assault weapons. The ban expires at midnight on Sept. 13, and Claire Buchan, a Bush spokeswoman, said he would sign an extension if Congress sends him one. But House GOP leaders said they won't schedule a vote unless Bush specifically asks. And they said that he hasn't done so. Sarah Brady of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence said polls continue to show that three-quarters of...