Panel OKs New Assault-Gun Curbs : Firearms: The bill would ban possession of non-sporting U.S.-made weapons. The NRA fiercely opposes it.

By PAUL HOUSTON

March 22, 1990 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

WASHINGTON —

The movement to outlaw military-style assault weapons, which had fallen on sleepy times after a roaring start, reawakened Wednesday when a House panel approved a bill condemned by the gun lobby as “the most far-reaching ban on rifles ever introduced in the U.S. Congress.”

The bill, sponsored by Rep. William J. Hughes (D-N. J.), chairman of the crime subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, would ban possession and most exports of any American-made semiautomatic rifle deemed by the Treasury Department to have no “sporting purpose.”

The measure, approved by Hughes’ subcommittee on a vote of 5 to 3, would also ban any firearm that can accept a silencer or bayonet. That provision is intended to stop the sale of assault pistols, such as the TEC-9, favored by drug dealers.

The bill would significantly expand a ban imposed by the Bush Administration last year on the import of 43 types of semiautomatic weapons judged by the Treasury Department to be unsuitable for hunting or recreation.

Gun control groups estimate that 75% of the assault weapons circulating in the United States are made by domestic firms and are not covered by the import ban.

Hughes expressed optimism that the Judiciary Committee and the House would approve his legislation, despite fierce opposition from the National Rifle Assn., whose lobbying tactics are widely feared by lawmakers, especially in an election year.

The Senate is expected to consider soon a less-sweeping ban on assault weapons as part of an omnibus anti-crime package. Bush has proposed even narrower restrictions on domestically made assault weapons, seeking only to limit the capacity of ammunition clips.

After drifter Patrick Purdy used a Chinese-made AK-47 rifle to kill or injure 34 children in a Stockton, Calif., schoolyard early last year--and police officials voiced alarm at increasing violence linked to assault weapons--the state of California and 27 cities and counties across the country rushed to enact bans on the weapons.

There was also a flurry of action in Congress, with a Senate subcommittee quickly approving a ban on nine specific weapons proposed by Sen. Dennis DeConcini (D-Ariz.). In the House, the most sweeping proposals were introduced by Reps. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City) and Pete Stark (D-Oakland).

Yet, despite another AK-47 massacre at a Louisville, Ky., printing plant last September, in which nine persons were killed and 13 wounded, there has been little state or federal legislative activity on the issue in recent months.

Action is just now being revived in Congress for several reasons, congressional sources said.

For one thing, it took time for the Senate Judiciary Committee to develop an anti-crime package containing provisions that would offer political cover to lawmakers worried about voting to restrict gun possession.

Thus, the package expands the federal death penalty, eases curbs on police searches and includes other provisions that might appease conservative voters upset by a gun ban.

In the House, Hughes is proceeding methodically, “looking at different approaches and making sure there was sufficient support there to move,” an aide said.

Another aide said that many lawmakers wanted to wait for popular support to develop in state legislatures and city councils before moving. The momentum increased recently when support was voiced by several groups not previously involved in the issue, including the American Bar Assn. and the American Medical Assn.

“I am optimistic the tide has changed and members will vote their consciences for what’s right,” Hughes said. “My district probably has more hunting lodges than any place around, but 85% of the people are clamoring for reasonable restrictions.”

Rep. Bill McCollum (R-Fla.) led opposition to the measure on grounds that it would give the Treasury Department too much leeway in deciding which rifles meet the “sporting purpose” test.

WEAPONS UNDER FIRE

The Treasury Department has identified 17 domestically produced semiautomatic rifles that have characteristics similar to 43 “assault rifles” currently banned for import. Under a bill approved Wednesday by a House subcommittee, these American-made weapons also likely would be banned:

Auto Ordnance Model

27A1 Thompson

Auto Ordnance Model

27A3 Thompson

Auto Ordnance Model

M1 Thompson

Bushmaster Auto rifle

Calico Carbines

Colt AR-15 rifle and copies produced by other manufacturers

Feather AT22 Carbine

Feather AT9 Carbine

Federal XC900 Auto Carbine