TAKING A STAND FOR PROTECTING THE PUBLIC

HARRISBURG, SEPT. 13 – On the same day that the federal ban on assault weapons is slated to expire, state Sen. Connie Williams hosted a news conference to discuss the continued need to keep assault weapons off the streets and out of the hands of criminals.

Standing with Williams on the steps of the Norristown Courthouse were a physician, a parent of a slain child, law enforcement officers and representatives of several common sense gun safety groups spoke in favor of extending the ban, and the critical need for Pennsylvania to take action on Williams’ legislation to ban the sale of assault weapons in Pennsylvania.

“Today is a dark day for the nation, as we witness the expiration of an important federal ban on the sale of assault weapons,” Williams said.

 “As of tomorrow morning at 12:01 a.m., semi-automatic weapons, capable of firing 30, 50, or even 100-round ammunition clips will be available for sale at gun shows and in gun shops across the state and around the country. These guns were designed for the military. They are not useful for recreational hunting, sportsmen or target practice. In the right hands these guns serve their purpose. In the wrong hands, however, they are machines of death to innocent people and their families and to law enforcement personnel who will face a new wave of criminals armed with these weapons.”

The federal ban became law in 1994, following a string of mass killings committed by criminals with assault weapons. Current law names 19 specific models as well as banning copies of those models.

“While not perfect, the law has served as a deterrent,” Williams said. “Rather than being permitted to expire, the law needs to be strengthened to protect innocent individuals and law enforcement. This failure on a national level to act to extend the ban creates a critical need for individual states to adopt their own assault weapons ban.”

Already seven states, including neighboring New York, New Jersey and Maryland have banned assault weapons.

Williams introduced legislation (S.B. 1216) that would ban the possession, purchase, sale or otherwise transfer of assault weapons, or assault weapon conversion kits to non-military in Pennsylvania.

“My legislation strengthens what is in federal law by closing several loopholes that have allowed gun manufacturers to circumvent the ban,” Williams said.

Under the federal law, one manufacturer can take another’s design and simply put a new name on a weapon or change one small, inconsequential feature to successfully evade the ban.

Statistics indicate the federal ban has been effective. After the ban went into effect in 1994, violent crimes declined by 26.5 percent (from 1994 to 2001).

There is widespread support for extending the ban by every major law enforcement organization in the country. An assault weapon kills One in five law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.

“If the federal ban is not extended and if states don’t pass legislation to ban it on a statewide level, I predict that next year at this time we will see alarming statistics about the number of people who have become innocent victims to an assault weapon,” Williams said. “If we don’t extend the ban, we will be giving criminals carte blanche to obtain UZIs, AK47s and TEC-9s. These guns will be on the streets of our communities.”

Most assault weapons are semiautomatic versions of fully-automatic machine guns designed specifically for the military. Automatic guns will continue to fire as long as the trigger is depressed, while semiautomatic weapons fire only one round and instantly reload the next round with each pull of the trigger. A fully-automatic UZI is capable of firing a 30-round magazine in slightly less than two seconds. A semiautomatic version will empty the same magazine in five seconds.

Williams noted that the expiration comes on the heels of the third anniversary of the Sept. 11^th , 2001 terrorist attacks.

“I don’t think anyone will ever forget that horrible day,” Williams said. “We are now part of an international war on terrorism. With the ban on assault weapons expiring, we’ll be starting a domestic war on terrorism, with criminals becoming the new terrorist. They will be armed with weapons capable of mass killings. Something must be done to prevent this new war on terrorism.”