A Stand for Sensible Gun Control

It takes courage to stand up to the politically powerful gun lobby. Fifty members of the Senate demonstrated that courage Wednesday when they approved a proposed ban on semiautomatic weapons to make it harder for drug dealers, gang members and other killers to get their hands on their favorite weapons.

The Senate majority sided with law-enforcement officials and grieving mothers who know the brutal effects of these military-style assault weapons from firsthand experience.

The measure, sponsored by Sen. Dennis DeConcini (D-Ariz.), would prohibit the sale, manufacture and possession of semiautomatic weapons for three years. It would outlaw 14 military-style rifles and pistols, including several domestic models that were not affected by an earlier ban on foreign imports.

Gun control is not a partisan issue. Both California senators--Democrat Alan Cranston and Republican Pete Wilson supported the ban. Although Democrats cast the majority of favorable votes, seven Republicans provided the margin of victory. The vote gave the proposed ban an important boost, but it’s still a long way from becoming law.

The Bush Administration opposes a ban on domestic assault weapons despite the fact the President last year imposed a similar ban on 43 foreign-made assault weapons. The National Rifle Assn. is fighting the ban on the ground that limits on guns abridge its interpretation of the constitutional right to bear arms. The wealthy lobby will target the House, which has yet to act, and keep up its staunch opposition in the event of another Senate vote.

The federal ban is needed despite the growing number of state laws, like the one enacted in California last year in the wake of the Stockton schoolyard massacre. Those laws can not prevent would-be killers from shopping in one state, and shooting in another.

That was the case last year in the Stockton shooting. The killer purchased his Chinese-made, rapid-fire AK-47 in Oregon, according to authorities, and carried it across state lines into California. Five children were killed; 29 others and a teacher were wounded. A federal ban would help prevent a similar tragedy.

Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates testified last year for the federal ban. He does not favor gun control as a rule, but Gates and other law- enforcement leaders are tired of having the courageous men and women they send into the streets being outgunned by the criminals.

Now 50 Senators have backed them up by voting against the NRA and in favor of restrained and reasonable gun control. They must remain strong: Lawmakers who oppose the ban on semiautomatic weapons can only be considered soft on crime.