[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 57 (Thursday, April 29, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S4678]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                STAND WITH OUR NATION'S LAW ENFORCEMENT

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, this week mayors and police chiefs from 
across the country will join with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun 
Violence to urge President Bush and Congress to renew the federal 
Assault Weapons Ban.
  The 1994 law banned a list of 19 specific weapons, as well as a 
number of other weapons incorporating certain design characteristics 
such as pistol grips, folding stocks, bayonet mounts, and flash 
suppressors. The assault weapons ban also prohibited the manufacture of 
semiautomatic weapons that incorporate at least two of these military 
features and which accept a detachable magazine. This law is scheduled 
to expire on September 13, 2004.
  I support the efforts of the law enforcement community and local 
leaders who are calling for legislation extending the law. In 1994, I 
voted for the assault weapons ban and, last month, I joined a 
bipartisan majority of the Senate in voting to extend the assault 
weapons ban for 10 years.
  Law enforcement support for the assault weapons ban is broad. It 
includes the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Major 
Cities Chiefs Association, the Police Foundation, the Police Executive 
Research Forum, the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, the 
National Association of School Resource Officers, the National 
Fraternal Order of Police, National Organization of Black Law 
Enforcement Executives, the Hispanic American Police Command Officers 
Association, and the National Black Police Association.
  In addition, mayors and police chiefs from Detroit, Los Angeles, San 
Francisco, Miami, Seattle, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. have joined 
over 200 other local leaders in sending a letter urging Congress to 
immediately pass a 10-year extension of the assault weapons ban.
  Despite broad support for this law, the National Rifle Association 
fought against passage of the assault weapons ban in 1994 and continues 
to oppose it to this day.
  While President Bush has indicated that he supports reauthorizing the 
assault weapons ban, and a bipartisan majority in the Senate is on the 
record supporting reauthorization, the President has failed to urge 
Congress to act on this important legislation before it expires on 
September 13th. The ban is a major public safety measure that protects 
citizens and police officers and I urge the President and the Congress 
to act immediately to reauthorize the law.

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