The federal assault weapons ban (AWB) was enacted by Congress in 1994 as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. However, the current AWB has a time limit of 10 years and will expire on September 14, 2004, unless reauthorized by the 108th Congress and signed into law by President Bush. Both President Bush and Attorney General Ashcroft have stated their support for a ban on assault weapons. Ashcroft has said that a ban is constitutional. “Assault weapons are weapons of war. They are designed to hose down individuals with a spray of lethal bullets. They have no place in civil society,” noted John Johnson, IPGV’s executive director.

Unfortunately, the current AWB has failed to meet the intent of Congress when it passed the ban in 1994. Gun manufacturers have been able to circumvent the ban by making small modifications to their weapons, renaming them, and marketing them as legal post-ban models. Examples are the Colt Match Target Rifle, Olympic Arms PCR-16 (stands for “politically correct rifle”), and Intratec AB-10 (stands for “after ban”).

The limitations of the current AWB are well documented and known by gun violence prevention groups, the gun lobby, law enforcement, the media, and Congress. The Conyers-McCarthy bill would address these concerns, with measures including a redefinition of the term “assault weapon” to include any semiautomatic rifle, shotgun, or pistol that can accept a detachable magazine and includes one listed additional assault feature such as a pistol grip, fore-end grip, or collapsible stock. This crucial improvement recognizes the characteristics that make an assault weapon especially lethal.

Kirsten Meredith, IPGV’s communications director said, “While the gun industry has blatantly evaded the current law and continued to manufacture and sell post-ban assault weapons, Americans continue to die. One of every five law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty are killed with assault weapons – many times copycat models that do not fall under the current ban.”

Iowans for the Prevention of Gun Violence considers that military-style, semiautomatic assault weapons constitute an unreasonable risk of death and injury to all Americans, especially law enforcement personnel who must deal with criminals who possess these weapons. Therefore, IPGV supports the McCarthy-Conyers bill to renew and strengthen the federal assault weapons ban to meet the original intent of Congress.