SECOND AMENDMENT
Gun-Banners In Your Back Yard
There's a new twist to the assault weapons ban, and it's coming to a state near you.
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By all accounts 2004 was a successful year for defenders of the Second Amendment. The march of the concealed carry movement continued. There are now 38 states that permit law-abiding citizens to carry concealed handguns for self-defense. In September the much-reviled Clinton-era assault weapons ban expired. On November 2 President Bush and Vice President Cheney, both committed gun-rights supporters, were reelected. Republicans also increased their existing majorities in both the Senate and the House.
Gun-rights opponents were understandably stunned by these setbacks, but their determination to disarm Americans remained undiminished. Instead of mounting additional futile attacks on the Republican citadel in Washington, the gun-banners have focused their attention on state and local lawmakers.
While there is no longer a federal ban on so-called assault weapons, there is also no federal law that prohibits states and localities from adopting their own gun-control measures. At the forefront of this new antigun campaign is the San Francisco-based Legal Community Against Violence (LCAV). The LCAV describes itself as "a public-interest law center dedicated to preventing violence." The not-so-subtle implication here is that Second Amendment supporters are in favor of gun violence.
The LCAV and its kindred spirits are trying to ignite a "sagebrush rebellion" against assault weapons. They are urging states and localities to adopt more restrictive gun laws. "When cities, counties and states adopt gun regulations," says the LCAV website, "they not only address local regional concerns, they show their representatives in Washington that there is a base of support for regulating firearms."
The LCAV has helpfully prepared a model assault weapons law for use at the state and local levels. The model very closely resembles the 1994 Clinton assault weapons prohibition. However, the LCAV contends that its sample legislation is superior to the 1994 law. The LCAV focuses on so-called military features, high ammunition capacity and enhanced control during firing. An assault weapon with only one of these features would be prohibited under the proposed legislation.
Much of the inspiration for the LCAV model legislation was derived from a paper entitled Killing Machines: The Case for Banning Assault Weapons. The paper was prepared by the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence. Killing Machines focuses primarily on assault weapons features that supposedly enhance control during "rapid firing." The paper argues that the muzzle of an assault weapon climbs when the gun is fired rapidly. This muzzle-climbing tendency is allegedly controlled by such weapon features as barrel shrouds, flash suppressors, muzzlebrakes, muzzle compensators, pistol grips and protruding magazines. Killing Machines reports that "an assault weapon...is any firearm that...can accept a detachable magazine and has one feature that enhances control during rapid firing."
The so-called assault weapon is the Rodney Dangerfield of firearms. It never gets any respect. The appearance and features that attract gun enthusiasts also repulse non-gunowners. The M16 and its civilian variants will always be considered large-caliber "machine guns" by baby-boomers who came of age during the Vietnam War. In fact, the AR-15, one civilian model of the M16, may not be used for deer hunting in a number of states because its .223-caliber bullet is not considered a reliable and humane whitetail projectile.
Those gun enthusiasts who derived a certain comfort from the preponderance of "red" states over "blue" states in the presidential election should look beneath the veneer of invincibility and get a glimpse of the vulnerabilities that still exist. It is a fact that every state in the Union has a constitution or statute that guarantees the right to armed self-defense. It is also true that the vast majority of states allow concealed carry of handguns. However, there are also 41 states that do not prohibit assault weapons. These states represent a target-rich environment for LCAV and the rest of the antigun movement.
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