[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 17744]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        THE ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, in 1994 I supported legislation which 
President Clinton signed into law a banning of the production of 
certain semiautomatic assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition 
magazines. 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 1994 assault weapons ban prohibited the manufacture of 
semiautomatic weapons that incorporate at least two of these military 
features and accept a detachable magazine. Pre-existing military-style 
semiautomatic weapons were not banned. This law is scheduled to sunset 
on September 13, 2004.
  Earlier this year, Senator Feinstein introduced the Assault Weapons 
Ban Reauthorization Act, which would reauthorize this important piece 
of gun safety legislation. I am a cosponsor of this bill because I 
believe it is critical that we keep these weapons off the streets and 
out of our communities. Senator Feinstein's bill also includes a 
provision that would ban the importation of large capacity ammunition 
feeding devices. This provision passed the Senate 59 to 39, as an 
amendment to the 1999 Juvenile Justice bill, and passed the House by 
unanimous consent. However, the 106th Congress never passed the 
Juvenile Justice bill because it got stuck in conference, and thus the 
import ban never became law.
  Studies have shown that the assault weapons ban legislation works. 
According to National Institute of Justice statistics reported by the 
Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, gun trace requests for assault 
weapons declined 20 percent in the first calendar year after the ban 
took effect, dropping from 4,077 in 1994 to 3,268 in 1995. This 
indicates that fewer of these weapons were making it onto the streets.
  If the law is not reauthorized, the production of assault weapons can 
legally resume. Restarting production of these weapons will increase 
their number and availability and inevitably lead to a rise in gun 
crimes committed with assault weapons. The Congress should act this 
year to reauthorize the ban.

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