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opinion
Bush, Congress Waffle
On Assault Weapons
If it were a referendum on the November ballot, a reauthorization of the 1994 ban on 19 specific "assault weapons" would likely get landslide approval. If it were allowed to go to the Senate floor, leaders say there are 52 votes to extend the ban.
But despite introduction of several bills to reauthorize the ban -- set to end Monday -- it's almost certain Congress won't act before then.
There is overwhelming public support for the ban. Polls show at least 68 percent favor its continuation.
But Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., has his own sense of public opinion. "I think the will of the American public is consistent with letting it (the ban) expire, so it will expire."
That's true if by "American public" Frist means the National Rifle Association.
Though the ban is riddled with loopholes that allow sale of weapons virtually identical to the some on the blacklist, gun-related violence has diminished under the ban. One recent study by the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics says firearm-related crime has declined to record levels since 1993.
President Bush said he would sign a bill extending the ban. Safe words, as he expended no effort and risked no political capital by urging congressional Republicans to send him such legislation.
Whether re-legalizing some of the banned weapons (some will remain illegal under other statutes) will result in a flood of assault weapon sales is anyone's guess. It's certain, however, that nobody suffered irreparable harm from the decade-long ban.
Congress and President Bush owed us more than capitulation to election-year politics and NRA lobbying.
