| Global update |
Gun control: Once-banned guns used for sport, some say
Continued from page 1
provision in the law set the ban to
expire this year unless Congress re
newed it, which it did not.
Although some students inter
viewed did not know the specifics of
the ban, many felt strongly that the
ban should be renewed.
Graduate student Hill Pierce said
he had heard about the expiration of
the ban and feels that semiautomat
ic weapons are unnecessary.
“The idea that Americans
need assault rifles is ridiculous,”
Pierce said.
Pierce said he favors stronger reg
ulations on assault weapons and
handguns and hopes Democratic
presidential candidate John Kerry
will take a stronger stance on the is
sue of gun control.
Senior Brianna Ronemus agreed,
saying she did not favor ending
the ban.
“There’s no real use for semiauto
matic weapons except for killing
stuff,” Ronemus said. “If more peo
ple can get ahold of these weapons,
it can’t be good for anybody.”
Junior Noah Martinson said the
expiration of the ban will put police
officers in danger.
“It’s a step backward, not a pro
gressive step for the country,” Mar
tinson said.
“There’s no real use for
semiautomatic weapons
except for killing stuff ...If
more people can get ahold
of these weapons, it can’t
be good for anybody. ”
Brianna Ronemus | University senior
Senior Jason Pate said he was sur
prised the Legislature and the presi
dent let the ban expire and assumes
that another ban will eventually be
put into place. Pate said whether peo
ple need assault weapons depends on
their circumstances, adding that some
of these firearms are used for hunting
or recreational shooting.
“People do need self-defense, but
not to the extreme,” Pate said.
Even gun enthusiasts have been
left confused by the expiration of the
ban. Gunter, who said he has
worked at The Baron’s Den for six
years, said the store has received
many calls from people seeking
more information about changes to
the law.
“Even people who know a lot
about guns don’t know about it,” he
said.
Gunter said the ban was ineffec
tive because it “dealt with cosmetic
differences,” noting that black, mili
tary-style weapons like the 9 mm
Beretta Storm carbine looks much
less deadly to some people than sim
ilar models with a wooden stock.
“Just because a gun is black and
has more handles doesn’t make is
worse than anything else,” Gunter
said.A grandfather clause under
the ban allowed people to buy and
sell existing semiautomatic
weapons that were restricted by
the ban. Gunter said similar
weapons, minus banned features,
could also be sold and purchased
new during the ban.
He added that he doesn’t think
lifting the ban will have a significant
impact on the sale of semiautomatic
weapons, although he said prices of
formerly banned weapons have
dropped. A Colt AR-15 like the ones
he demonstrated, which would
have sold for about $2,000 under
the ban, now retails for less than
$1,000. Yet Gunter said the prices
on semiautomatic weapons still
make them prohibitively expensive
for potential criminals to purchase
for use in a crime, saying it would
be cheaper and easier to obtain a
stolen weapon or buy a used
firearm from a pawn shop.
Gunter said some of the formerly
banned weapons are purchased by
military collectors. Gunter, a former
Marine, said he purchases some mil
itary-style guns.
“1 buy them because 1 used simi
lar guns in the military,” he said.
He also said they are used in com
petitive shooting events like those
hosted by the shooting range at The
Baron’s Den.
“I own a lot of military-style
firearms, and the worst thing
they’ve ever done is punch holes
in paper,” Gunter said, refrencing
the paper targets used at ranges
for practice.
He added that there were ways for
firearms collectors to get around the
ban by doing modifications to make
their guns look more authentic.
Gunter said some people confuse
semiautomatic weapons with fully
automatic firearms or “machine
guns.” He noted that automatic guns
are still restricted by the National
Firearms Act of 1934.
u b d idueu experiment, Dasicai
ly,” he said. “It did nothing to deter
crime. Just banning anything is not
going to make it safer. ”
Instead of reinstating the ban,
Gunter said he believes stricter en
forcement of existing weapons laws
is necessary to curb crime involving
firearms.
But supporters of the ban, includ
ing several national law enforce
ment groups, adamantly proclaim
the need for renewed restrictions.
Before the ban expired, members of
the Million Mom March made a tour
stop in Eugene in August to support
continuation of the ban. The event at
tracted about a dozen supporters, in
cluding Eugene Police Chief Robert
Lehner and Rebecca Lynn, whose
daughter was shot at Thurston High
School in 1998, according to an Aug.
11 article in The Register-Guard.
Lynn said Thurston shooter Kip
Kinkel used an illegal magazine of
50 rounds when he shot 27 students,
killing two, according to the article.
In an open letter to President
Bush on the Million Mom March
Web site, Sarah Brady, the chair
woman of the Brady Campaign to
Prevent Gun Violence, urged the
president to reinstate the ban.
“Now, these guns, designed by
military scientists to inflict the maxi
mum level of damage to human be
ings, are back on our streets,” Brady
said.
Brady said the law was effective,
according to the letter.
“This law forked, and it saved
lives,” she said. “It saved the lives of
police officers and children.”
Both sides of the debate cite
studies they say support their views.
The National Rifle Association,
which wanted the ban to expire,
cites a 2001 report by the U.S. De
partment of Justice that indicated
only 7 percent of inmates who car
ried a firearm during the offense that
put them in jail used military-style
semiautomatic weapons. Handguns
were used by 80 percent of the in
mates, according to the study.
“Now, these guns, designed
by military scientists to in
flict the maximum level of
damage to human beings,
are back on our streets. ”
Sarah Brady
Chairwoman, Brady Campagin
to Prevent Gun Violence
However, the Brady Campaign to
Prevent Gun Violence cited a differ
ent study. The group said informa
tion from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
demonstrates the law has saved lives.
The study indicates that 4.8 percent
of guns suspected of being used in a
crime and traced by the ATF before
the ban were semiautomatic
weapons, while 1.6 percent of guns
traced after the ban went into effect
were semiautomatic rifles.
A federally funded 2004 report to
the National Institute of Justice on
the effectiveness of the ban found
that large-capacity magazines used
in all types of guns were involved in
more gun crimes than assault rifles,
but it was not clear how a shooter’s
ability to fire multiple shots without
reloading affected his lethality.
“Should it be renewed, the ban’s
effects on gun violence are likely to
be small at best and perhaps too
small for reliable measurement. (As
sault weapons) were rarely used in
gun crimes even before the ban,” ac
cording to the report.
parkerhowell@ daily emerald, com
SEMIAUTOMATIC
ASSAULT WEAPONS
NO LONGER BANNED
AK47 and other Norinco, Mitchell and Poly Tech
nologies Avtomat Kalashnikovs - Firearms made in
Russia and elsewhere.
Uzi and Gatil - Manufactured by Action Arms Israeli
Military Industries.
Beretta AR-70 and SC-70 - Firearms manufac
tured in Italy.
Colt AR-15 - The civilian version of the M-16 rifle
used bytheU.S. military.
Fabrique National N/FAL, FN/LAR, FNC - Belgian
designed weapons used by many nations.
SWD M-10, M-ll, M l 1/9 and M-12-Domestic
semiautomatic pistols based on the fully automatic
MAC-10.
Steyr AUG—A rifle made in Austria.
TEC-9, TEC-22 and TEC-DC9 - Firearms made do
mestically by Intratec.
Street Sweeper and Striker 12 - Revolving semiauto
matic shotguns manufactured domestically.
Sources: Violent Crime Control
and Law Enforcement Act of 1994,
National Institute of Justice
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