[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 81 (Monday, June 14, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S6730]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       THREE MONTHS AND COUNTING

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, 3 months from yesterday is the expiration 
date for the assault weapons ban. Despite Senate passage of a 
bipartisan amendment that would have reauthorized the ban, it appears 
that this important gun safety law will be allowed to expire. The House 
Republican leadership opposes reviewing the law and President Bush, 
though he has said he supports it, has done little to help keep the law 
alive.
  In April of this year, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence 
joined hundreds of local elected officials and senior law enforcement 
officials to urge President Bush to push for reauthorization of this 
critical piece of gun safety legislation. I commend them for their 
efforts and continue to support this commonsense gun safety 
legislation.
  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.
  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, in March of this year, 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, the 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 urging Congress to immediately pass a 
10-year extension of the current 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. 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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