Law Enforcement Groups, Police Executives Call for Reauthorization of Federal Assault Weapons Ban; Law Will Expire in September 2004

9/23/2002

From: Amy Stilwell or Nancy Hwa, 202-898-0792, both of the Brady Campaign

WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 -- Representatives of major law enforcement organizations gathered today in the nation's capitol to announce their support for the reauthorization of the federal Assault Weapons Ban, which prohibits the sale and manufacture of certain military-style, semi-automatic firearms. The law is scheduled to expire in September 2004, unless Congress passes -- and President Bush signs -- legislation to renew it.

The event, which was hosted by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence united with the Million Mom March, marks the launch of a nationwide campaign to ensure that this life-saving law remains in effect.

Speaking at the press conference were: Hubert Williams, president of the Police Foundation; Captain Curtis S. Lavarello, executive director of the National Association of School Resource Officers; Jimmy L. Wilson, president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives; and Tom Frazier of the Major Cities Chiefs Association. Steve Sposato, whose wife Jody was killed by a deranged man with two assault pistols in a 1993 San Francisco law firm massacre, also spoke in support of the law. Although unable to attend the event, the International Brotherhood of Police Officers and the Police Executive Research Forum submitted statements of support.

In expressing their support for renewal of the ban, the law enforcement representatives repeatedly stated that the ban was a common-sense measure that protects public safety and safeguards the lives of their officers. "At a time when our nation is spending billions of dollars on domestic security, and when federal, state, and local law enforcement resources are increasingly overburdened, it makes less sense than ever to allow the sale of these military-style weapons," said Hubert Williams, president of the Police Foundation.

Brady Campaign President Michael D. Barnes stressed the need for people to remember that the 108th Congress -- the one that is elected this November -- will be responsible for renewing the assault weapons ban. Barnes held up a copy of a pledge that the Brady Campaign and other organizations will be asking Congressional candidates to sign, promising to work for the renewal of the assault weapons ban in the next Congress.

"We do not have the luxury of waiting until 2004 to talk about renewing the law," said Barnes. "All Americans must start thinking about it now because the decisions that they make at the polls this November will decide the fate of the ban. Ask yourself: do you really want to return to the days when UZIs and AK-47s were freely available in stores and on our streets? I urge everyone to find out how their lawmakers stand on renewing the assault weapons ban and to speak out now. I also call on President Bush, who promised to renew the law during his campaign, to use his leadership to make that renewal a reality."

Every major law enforcement organization in the country supported the federal assault weapons ban and worked for its passage. It was signed it into law on Sept. 13, 1994 as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. As of that date, domestic gun manufacturers were required to stop producing for the civilian market 19 different types of semi-automatic assault weapons, imitations of these weapons, firearms containing two or more military-style features (such as a threaded barrel or a folding stock), and high-capacity ammunition clips (holding more than 10 rounds). Imports of assault weapons not already banned by administrative action under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush were also halted. Assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips produced prior to September 13, 1994, were "grandfathered" in under the law and can still be possessed and sold.

In 1999, the National Institute of Justice reported that trace requests for assault weapons declined 20 percent in the first calendar year after the ban took effect, dropping from 4,077 in 1994 to 3,268 in 1995. Over the same time period, gun murders declined only 10 percent and trace requests for all types of guns declined 11 percent, clearly showing a greater decrease in the number of assault weapons traced in crime.

"I don't want to have to tell my daughter Meghan, who was only 10 months old when Jody died, that the type of gun that killed her mother will be back on the streets," said Steve Sposato. "People like me -- who have lost loved ones to the lethal firepower of assault weapons -- know all too well the devastating price that these weapons exact on our families and our communities. We will be here to remind Members of Congress why it is so important that this ban be renewed."

For more information about the federal assault weapons ban, please visit http://www.bradycampaign.org.