Legislator Joins Attack on Assault Guns

Joining U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s efforts against assault weapons, U.S. Rep. Walter Capps called upon his House colleagues Friday to plug legal loopholes that have resulted in the spread of thousands of the military-style firearms.

“This is not something that has to do with the 2nd Amendment,” said Capps (D-Santa Barbara). “I don’t think citizens have the right to carry military-style Uzis in order to protect themselves. There are too many innocent people being killed by them.”

Capps said he wants to work with Feinstein, who championed the 1994 federal law restricting assault weapons, to craft legislation that would crack down further on a class of weapons that many believe should be outlawed because of their large firing capacity and ability to fell multiple victims in a single incident.

On Friday, Capps also followed Feinstein’s lead by calling for the House to help block a proposed arms deal that would bring tens of thousands of Israeli-manufactured assault weapons into the United States.

Capps circulated a letter Friday urging fellow legislators in the 435-member House to help block the proposed export of modified Uzi and Galil assault weapons to a U.S. gun company.

Earlier this week, Feinstein appealed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel the proposed gun transaction. Feinstein also has urged President Clinton to use his executive authority to negate the deal, which was approved by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms because the Uzis and Galils have been slightly reconfigured so that, technically, they fall outside current restrictions on such weapons.

The proposed transaction was outlined in a Times series last month that also detailed how gun manufacturers have exploited loopholes in state and federal laws to flood the country with assault weapons that are cosmetically different from restricted firearms but are equally lethal.

Capps, a member of the committee on international relations, is asking his colleagues to sign a letter to Netanyahu that, like Feinstein’s, would implore the Israeli leader to block the pending gun deal.

“We understand how critical the Uzi and Galil weapons have been to the Israel Defense Forces . . . to maintain the security of the nation,” Capps’ letter says. “However, these weapons have no place on American streets.

“In the spirit of U.S.-Israel friendship, we urge you to stop this sale and do all that you can to prevent future sales.”

Netanyahu is said to be reviewing the matter, which Capps said he hopes is the first step in a broader congressional effort to strengthen assault weapon laws.

“I’m very hopeful that this will be the instrument to help us gather momentum in stopping the sale of assault weapons nationwide,” he said.

Feinstein welcomed Capps’ involvement, both in the Israeli gun deal issue and his desire to tackle the politically tricky issue of assault weapon restriction.

“I’d be most happy to work with him,” the California Democrat said. “Absolutely.”

In recent days, Feinstein has met with Clinton and Vice President Al Gore in strategy sessions to address shortcomings in federal assault weapons laws.

Capps, a first-term congressman, is also co-sponsor of a pending bill--the James Guelff Body Armor Act. The legislation is named for a San Francisco police officer who was slain in November 1994 by a gunman who was clad in bullet-proof body armor and whose arsenal included an Uzi assault pistol and thousands of rounds of ammunition. The bill would ban the mail-order sale of body armor. Feinstein invoked Guelff’s name in her letter to Netanyahu.

“I’m hopeful that this week’s events can jar [the bill] out of committee and bring it up for a vote,” Capps said.