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For Immediate Release: Wednesday, October 13th, 2004 Contact: Contact: Jordan Isenstadt (c) 516.991.3842 (w) 212.490.9535 (f) 212.490.2151 ***PRESS RELEASE***
State Senator Liz Krueger Condemns Lack of Action to Renew Assault Weapons Ban
New York, NY – State Senator Liz Krueger called on Congress today to renew the assault weapons ban that expired last month. The 1994 Assault Weapons Ban prohibited the manufacture, transfer, and possession of 19 specific semiautomatic assault weapons, such as AK-47s, AR15s, MAC-10s, TEC-9s and UZIs. Notorious incidents highlighting the public health risk posed by easy access to assault weapons include the school shootings at Columbine High School in suburban Denver, CO in 1999, and the workplace shootings in Wakefield, MA, where Michael McDermott killed seven co-workers firing 49 rounds from an AK-47 in December 2000. “Our safety and the long-term health of New York City was imperiled when Congress let the assault weapons ban expire,” stated Senator Krueger.
Although New York has its’ own anti-assault weapon legislation, defunct laws in adjacent states make it easier for criminals to access guns and commit crimes in New York. “Unless we have a strong national ban, New York is endangered, no matter what state laws we have in place,” Krueger says. “Crimes that involve assault weapons simply do not respect state boundaries.”
According to New Yorkers Against Gun Violence (NYAGV), military-style semiautomatic assault weapons pose a grave risk to law enforcement officers. A study of FBI data by the Violence Policy Center concluded that one in five law enforcement officers slain in the line of duty between January 1st, 1998, and December 31st, 2001, was killed with an assault weapon.
Without the ban in place, the weapons will return to the streets, threatening to drastically undermine public safety and security. Before the federal ban was enacted, assault weapons were used in almost 5% of crimes. That number shrank dramatically to 1.6% after the ban’s passage. Since the law’s enactment, the number of assault weapons at crime scenes has dropped 45% according to Crime Gun Solutions LLC, a consulting firm. Gun deaths dropped from 38,505 in 1994 to 29,573 in 2001, the Center for Disease Control found.
“If we have statistics that sensibly support the effectiveness of the gun ban, how could we let it expire,” asked Senator Krueger. “The answer lies in which group the government wants to protect -- do they care about the safety of citizens or rather the safety of their political positions with an increasingly powerful NRA (National Rifle Association) lobby?”
Congressional Democrats still wary after the NRA
retaliated in 1994 to their passage of the assault weapons ban, offered
little resistance to the ban’s expiration.
Even former President Bill Clinton testified in his autobiography, My Life, to the strength of the NRA’s
lobby that worked to topple the Democrats from their Congressional
majority. “On November 8th, we got the living
daylights beat out of us, losing eight Senate races and fifty-four House
seats, the largest defeat for our party since 1946....The NRA had a great
night,” Clinton wrote. In a precarious
position where their electoral success seems to depend on appeasing the gun
lobby, most Senate and House Democrats remained silent including Senate
Minority Leader Tom Daschle and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. “They are still scared to death of offending the NRA and its powerful
lobby,” Krueger lamented. “But the fact are clear that the gun lobby
does not represent the sentiments of the majority of the country.”
Congress’ decision to let the ban expire contradicts the majority of American’s opinions on gun control. 71% of people polled in a study conducted by University of Pennsylvania National Annenberg Election survey, supported a renewal of the ban. In fact, 64% of households that already own guns supported a renewal. Law enforcement officials overwhelmingly supported a renewal of the ban. More than 1,100 local Police Chiefs and Sheriffs from 35 states urged Congress and President Bush to renew and strengthen the ban before it expired. 64 law enforcement executives from around New York State signed on to a resolution created by NYAGV.
“Of course the police and other law enforcement officials support a renewal of the assault weapons ban,” remarked Senator Krueger. “The danger of their job exponentially increases when criminals can so easily obtain deadly assault weapons. They could face a grenade launcher now, sold without restraint to any interested party.”
“The assault weapons ban was an effective piece of legislation and the numbers tell us that gun crimes and gun deaths were drastically reduced after the 1994 ban was enacted,” concluded Senator Krueger. “One can only imagine how much damage has already been done in the last month since the ban expired. Congress must address the very important issue of assault weapons before it is too late.”
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