With a Gun Law in Bull’s-Eye, It’s Payday for the NRA : Money talks: Assault weapons control is up for a vote

It’s payback time on the House floor today. Without so much as a committee hearing, the House plans to vote on--and thus could well repeal--the 2-year-old ban on assault weapons.

The National Rifle Assn. has been waiting, as patiently as it could, for the Republican leadership to make good on its promise to repeal this plainly necessary measure. That promise led to the sort of generous financial support for certain Republican candidates during the 1994 congressional campaigns that has become a hallmark of the NRA.

Since the 1994 passage of the assault weapons ban, repeal has been among the NRA’s highest priorities. Never mind that the federal ban is a compromise, affecting only 19 specific styles of weapons and similar generic models while exempting those assault guns already in private hands. Never mind that these weapons have no legitimate hunting or sporting use. Never mind that they have become the weapons of choice for many criminals. And never mind that, for these good reasons, Americans overwhelmingly support the ban. In the opinion of extremist gun enthusiasts and their grateful friends on Capitol Hill, the ban has set Congress on a slippery slope toward government confiscation of all guns in private hands. What nonsense.

And what a sorry spectacle is the House effort to repeal this measure. Led by Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and Jim Chapman (D-Texas), supporters first scheduled a vote for last May but the terrorist bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building in April made the timing look insensitive. Then they tried for a vote shortly before the Christmas recess; again the timing--during the season of joy and peace--was bad.

If the repeal clears the House, Senate passage is very uncertain. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who courageously sponsored the assault gun ban, has promised “the mother of all filibusters.” And if such a filibuster fails and the measure goes to the White House, President Clinton has promised a veto.

In view of these barriers, the House vote seems little more than a blatant special-interest payback. Thirteen members of the California delegation are on record in support of repeal. They are Matthew Martinez (D-Monterey Park), David Dreier (R-San Dimas), Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), Jay Kim (R-Diamond Bar), Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands), Carlos J. Moorhead (R-Glendale), Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-Santa Clarita), Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), Ken Calvert (R-Riverside), Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), Bill Thomas (R-Bakersfield) and Andrea Seastrand (R-Santa Barbara). Each ought to be held to answer by every voter in his or her district.

To Take Action: House members can be called at the main switchboard, (202) 225-3121.