Gun Down the Tools of Slaughter : House votes today on assault weapons bill

Today, members of the House should cast an “aye” vote for a safer future for their home states, a safer future for the nation. They should vote for a federal ban on the manufacture and sale of most military-style assault weapons.

A shift of merely a handful of uncommitted lawmakers to the “yes” column will result in passage of this important bill.

The House version, like a similar measure that cleared the Senate last December, prohibits 19 types of semiautomatic rifles, pistols and shotguns and their look-alikes. The bill would ban possession of assault weapons manufactured in the future but would not affect present owners of such firearms.

Assault weapons have amply earned their notorious reputation, particularly in California. Semiautomatic assault weapons were used in the 1984 McDonald’s massacre in San Ysidro, the 1989 Stockton schoolyard slaughter and the 1993 San Francisco law firm murder spree. California voters should take note of which of their representatives votes against the ban and call them to account.

The Stockton attack, which left five schoolchildren dead and 30 others wounded, prompted California lawmakers to pass the first assault weapons ban in the nation, a 1989 bill that prohibited 67 specific military-style arms.

However, bullying tactics by the gun lobby prevented a preferable blanket ban on features such as high-capacity ammunition clips. Fortunately, the current legislation addresses that problem, limiting ammunition magazines to no more than 10 bullets. Why should any one person have enough firepower to bring down a small-town police force?

Those who enjoy hunting and target shooting would not be penalized by the House bill, for it exempts as many as 670 sporting arms. Hardly Draconian.

With 210 million firearms in circulation today, the United States has more than four times the guns it did in 1950. Though it’s true that assault weapons make up a small percentage of the nation’s ever-burgeoning arsenal, lawmakers must not lose sight of the fact that these paramilitary arms have but one purpose--to quickly and efficiently kill human beings.

Opponents of a ban insist that gun control is not crime control. That’s true. Sensible controls on firearms are only one way to address the complex crime problem. But while debate on the fine points of the issue continues, assault weapons proliferate, spreading even more fear and violence.

It’s time for the House, like the Senate, to move to get a hold on the nation’s runaway gun epidemic. It must pass the assault gun ban.