Another "renew the AWB" article... - Democratic Underground

jtb33

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Wed May-05-04 12:24 PM
Original message

Another "renew the AWB" article...

Edited on Wed May-05-04 12:38 PM by jtb33

Editorial

...

Opponents often portray the ban as a sweeping infringement on the rights of law-abiding gun owners, but in fact the legislation affects a very limited number of weapons. Most are useless for hunting and too dangerous for home defense, and some are not even accurate enough to make for good target shooting.

This bill does not prohibit those weapons that might arguably be most useful for defending a person or a home; it does not affect the guns sought after by the vast majority of reasonable hunters and target sportsmen; and the precautions it requires of retailers are minor, considering the potential for destruction and loss of life such guns represent in the wrong hands. In reality, the assault weapons ban asks gun makers, sellers and purchasers to shoulder a very slight burden of responsibility in exchange for a potentially very large benefit for public safety. Will this legislation alone prevent such weapons from ever coming into the hands of someone who would use them to terrorize, intimidate or kill? Sadly, it will not. If it could have done such a thing, Espinoza might still be alive today.

But would the absence of this legislation, and the easier access to powerful assault weapons that would bring, make things worse? It most certainly would. The shooting of Espinoza is a sad reminder that we should be working harder to limit the availability of these weapons, not making it easier. The federal assault weapons ban must be renewed.

Not that it's anything new, but let's look at some statistics:

DOJ - Law Enforcement Officers Feloniously Killed

Six years prior to "Assault Weapon Ban":
Year....Total LEOs Killed...By Handguns...By Other Guns...By Other Methods
1988........78.................63............13..............2
1989........66.................40............17..............9
1990........66.................48.............9..............9
1991........71.................50............18..............3
1992........64.................44............11..............9
1993........70.................50............17..............3
TOTALS.....415................295............85.............35

Six years after "Assault Weapon Ban":
Year....Total LEOs Killed...By Handguns...By Other Guns...By Other Methods
1995........74.................43............19.............12
1996........61.................50.............7..............4
1997........70.................49............18..............3
1998........61.................40............18..............3
1999........42.................25............16..............1
2000........51.................33............14..............4
TOTALS.....355................240............92.............26

CHANGE...(-14%).............(-19%).........(+8%).........(-26%)

*** The number of police killed by non-handgun firearms (including "assault weapons") has NOT DECREASED since the passing of the "assault weapon" ban in 1994 but has in fact INCREASED since the passage of the AWB.

And this comes despite the decrease in the number of LEOs killed by all other means INCLUDING handguns.

Now, just out of curiosity, what do you use to defend your home in case of an intrusion? (eg - telephone, bat, knife, Mossberg 500, AR-15, Glock, etc)