[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 115 (Tuesday, August 16, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 16, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]


                              {time}  1250
 
     SEMI-AUTOMATIC WEAPONS WITH EASE BECOME AUTOMATIC MACHINE GUNS

  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend my remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Traficant). Without objection, the 
gentleman is recognized for 1 minute.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, last I had the opportunity to 
work with BATF special agents in charge of St. Paul Field Division, Bob 
Witzer and his colleague James Kuboushek who worked for the Bureau of 
Alcohol and Tobacco and Firearms, Department of Treasury, who helped me 
put on a demonstration of a number of the assault weapons that are 
included in the 19 weapons that are included in the proposed assault 
ban, and showing the power and danger of these particular weapons and 
the problem they pose.
  Mr. Speaker, as my colleagues are aware with regard to this issue, 
very often when these weapons are sold as semiautomatic assault weapons 
they are, with ease and readily converted to an automatic weapon. Most 
of the assault models of weapons are produced abroad, and some were 
banned by President Bush under an executive order in 1989, banned in 
terms of the importation, they are, in fact, today being produced by 
U.S. manufacturers and-or sent into the United States as parts and than 
assembled.
  I think the important point that is glossed over by opponents and 
what the public ought to understand is that many times they are sold as 
semiautomatic, but these weapons are, in fact, easily convertible and 
used as automatic weapons, so they literally can be turned into a 
machine gun. This is the normal mode of operation as an automatic 
weapon used in armed conflict by and for a military purpose.
  It is surprising to me that this particular facet has not been well-
recognized by the public, or even by some Members, because in the 
1930's, when the then Thompson submachine guns were banned and other 
machine guns were banned in the mid-1980's in this country, and now in 
the 1990's we have these weapons that are brought in that have an 
automatic mode but are sold on a semiautomatic basis, they, in fact, 
are easily convertible, so we basically have circumvention of the law 
and the assault weapon present on the streets and rural routes across 
America.
  That is why it is important, Mr. Speaker, to include this assault 
weapon ban in the new crime bill and finally in the law, so we can 
eliminate the future and prospective sale of these assault weapons and 
prevent these weapons from slipping into the hands of the naive or the 
hardened criminal.

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