Police chiefs: Restore assault weapons ban

The Miami Herald ^ | 9-19-07 | SUSANNAH A. NESMITH

[nin_kasi]

Miami-Dade Officer Jose Somohano was shot and killed with a Mak-90 assault rifle three years to the day after the federal law prohibiting the sale of such weapons expired.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police issued a report at noon Wednesday calling for, among other things, a renewal of the ban, arguing that it helps keep police officers safe by reducing the ``firepower available to criminals.''

The report hits home for South Florida law enforcement officers, who have been facing an increasing number of these guns on the street since the ban expired. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez, a former police officer and police director, can't hide his anger when he talks about the fact that lawmakers let the ban expire.

''While I feel very strongly about the Second Amendment, I don't think that our founding fathers had AK-47s in mind,'' he said. ``There's absolutely no reason I can see having these weapons out on the street.''

His voice rising, he brings up Shawn LaBeet, the man who killed Somohano: ``This guy just went to a gun store with a fake ID and bought one.''

LaBeet bought nine guns in the past year, including the semiautomatic Mak-90, which is similar to an AK-47. The gun was covered under the assault weapons ban and was illegal to sell for 10 years until September 2004.

''It's one thing to talk philosophically about the right to bear arms and it's another to see what these assault rifles can do,'' Alvarez said.

Local police say the numbers of murders committed with assault weapons has been steadily rising since the ban expired on Sept. 13, 2004.

In the city of Miami, 20 percent of murders this year were committed with assault weapons, up from 4 percent in 2004.

Local law enforcement say there is little they can do besides ramp up their own arsenals. They're looking to Congress for an answer.

''This is not a local issue. It has local implications, obviously. A police officer was just killed here,'' said Miami Police Chief John Timoney, an ardent gun control advocate. ``The resolution of this is in the nation's capital. But there's no appetite to address that.''

Timoney recently decided to allow his officers to carry assault rifles. Miami-Dade police have plans to do the same, Alvarez said. And last year, the Broward Sheriff's Office allowed deputies to carry them.

''I would think that for all the departments to start changing their viewpoints on allowing officers to carry assault weapons tells you there are more of those out there,'' said Dick Brickman, president of the Broward Police Benevolent Association. ``What's the purpose of assault rifles? As far as we're concerned, an assault rifle is only going to hurt people.''

U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, said he supports a new assault weapon ban and thinks there is pretty widespread support in Congress on the issue.

''It should be renewed. I think the majority of members of Congress would support it,'' he said. ``The president, in a very lukewarm way, has indicated that he would sign it but I'm not sure he really would.''

Klein said he thinks the tide is changing in public opinion, too.

''It doesn't take another law enforcement officer to be killed by assault weapons to persuade people that banning them is just common sense,'' he said.

A bill to renew the ban was introduced in Congress this year, but has not made it out of committee yet.

[supercat]

Late-model military rifles were precisely what they had in mind.

Rifles weren't used much militarily, though I'm sure they were included in what Madison et al. had in mind. The "assault weapon" of the day would have been a smoothbore musket, which could fire more than twice as many rounds per minute as a typical rifle.

[The_Macallan]

Getting The Facts STRAIGHT
About "Assault Weapons"

FACT: "Assault Weapons" are RARELY ever used in crimes -

Guns Used In Crimes:
Top 10 Most Frequently Traced Guns Used In Crimes In 1994 (BEFORE the "Assault Weapon" Ban):
1) Lorcin P25 (pistol)
2) Davis Ind. P380 (pistol)
3) Raven Arms MP25 (pistol)
4) Lorcin L25 (pistol)
5) Mossberg 500 (shotgun)
6) Phoenix Arms Raven (pistol)
7) Jennings J22 (pistol)
8) Ruger P89 (pistol)
9) Glock 17 (pistol)
10) Bryco 38 (pistol)


FACT: "Assault Weapons" are RARELY ever used to kill police officers -

Firearm Caliber and % Of LEOs Killed:
Calibers Most Often Used To Kill Police Officers In 1994 (BEFORE the "Assault Weapon" Ban):
1) .38 caliber handgun - 25.2%
2) .357 magnum handgun - 12.1%
3) 9mm handgun - 9.5%
5) 12 gauge shotgun - 7.4%
6) .22 caliber handgun - 5.4%
7) .22 caliber rifle - 4.4%


And according to the most recent detailed report, Dept. of Justice; Firearm Use by Offender...

FACT: "Assault weapons" are RARELY possessed by criminals during commission of a crime -
State and Federal prison inmates armed during the crime for which they are being incarcerated: (table 2)
* 9.9% of state and 7.3% of federal inmates possessed "single-shot" firearms.
* 7.9% of state and 7.7% of federal inmates possessed conventional semiautomatic firearm.
* 1.5% of state and 1.7% of federal inmates possessed military-style semi-auto or full-auto firearms.



FACT: "Assault weapons" are RARELY involved in ANY crimes -
State and Federal prison inmates who have ever possessed firearms during ANY crime: (table 2)
* 14.2% of state and 10.6% of federal inmates possessed "single-shot" firearm during ANY crime.
* 10.9% of state and 9.8% of federal inmates possessed conventional semiautomatic firearm during ANY crime.
* 2.5% of state and 2.3% of federal inmates possessed military-style semi-auto or full-auto firearms during ANY crime.



FACT: "Assault weapons" possessed by criminals during crimes are usually obtained ILLEGALLY -
Of State prison inmates who possessed military-style semi-auto or full-auto firearms in crimes for which they are incarcerated: (table 10)
* 48.5% obtained them through illegal sources (theft, drug dealer, black market, etc.)
* 25.2% obtained them from family or friend.
* 19.3% obtained them from retail sale.
* 1.9% obtained them from gun shows.


Also from the same source DOJ source:

FACT: "Assault weapons" that are possessed during a crime are the LEAST LIKELY type of firearm to be actually discharged during the crime.

FACT: "Assault weapons" that are possessed during a crime are the LEAST LIKELY type of firearm to be used to injure the victim.

FACT: "Assault weapons" that are possessed during a crime are the LEAST LIKELY type of firearm to be used to kill the victim.

"ASSAULT WEAPONS" HAVE NEVER BEEN A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR IN GUN-CRIMES.



FACT: The "Assault Weapon" Ban Did NOT Reduce The Number Of Officers Killed In The Line Of Duty -

Six years prior to "Assault Weapon" Ban:
Year....Total LEOs Killed...By Handguns...By Other Guns...By Other Methods
1988..................78.......................63......................13....................2
1989..................66.......................40......................17....................9
1990..................66.......................48.......................9....................9
1991..................71.......................50......................18....................3
1992..................64.......................44......................11....................9
1993..................70.......................50......................17....................3
TOTALS...........415......................295......................85...................35


Six years after "Assault Weapon" Ban:
Year....Total LEOs Killed...By Handguns...By Other Guns...By Other Methods
1995..................74.......................43......................19...................12
1996..................61.......................50.......................7....................4
1997..................70.......................49......................18....................3
1998..................61.......................40......................18....................3
1999..................42.......................25......................16....................1
2000..................51.......................33......................14....................4
TOTALS...........355......................240......................92...................26


CHANGE......(-14%).................(-19%)................(+8%)...........(-26%)

Source: US Dept. Justice, Law Enforcement Officers Feloniously Killed
* The number of police killed by non-handgun firearms (which includes "assault weapons") has NOT decreased since the passing of the "assault weapon" ban in 1994 but in fact has INCREASED since the passage of the AWB. And this comes despite the decrease in the number of LEOs killed by all other means INCLUDING handguns.
THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THE "ASSAULT WEAPON" BAN REDUCED THE NUMBER OF LEOs KILLED. PERIOD.



FACT: Studies demonstrated that the "Assault Weapon" ban "FAILED" to reduce gun-murders:
From The 1997 "Impact Evaluation" of the "Assault Weapon" Ban -
"We were unable to detect any reduction to date in two types of gun murders that are thought to be closely associated with assault weapons, those with multiple victims in a single incident and those producing multiple bullet wounds per victim. We did find a reduction in killings of police officers since mid-1995. However, the available data are partial and preliminary, and the trends may have been influenced by law enforcement agency policies regarding bullet-proof vests."

5.2.3. Assault Weapons and Crime -
"...assault weapons do not appear to be used disproportionately in violent crime relative to other guns" "Overall, assault weapons accounted for about 1% of guns associated with homicides, aggravated assaults, and robberies" and "only 2% of guns associated with drug crimes were assault weapons."

5.2.4. Unbanned Handguns Capable of Accepting Large-capacity Magazines -
"The ban on large-capacity magazines does not seem to have discouraged the use of these guns."

6.2.1. Trends in Multiple-Victim Gun Homicides -
"[Studies] failed to produce any evidence that the ban reduced the number of victims per gun homicide incident."

6.3.4. Conclusions -
"[Studies] failed to produce evidence of a post-ban reduction in the average number of gunshot wounds per case or in the proportion of cases involving multiple wounds."

6.4.2. Assault Weapons and Homicides of Police Officers -
"In sum, police officers are rarely murdered with assault weapons."

From The 1999 "Impacts of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban"Report To Congress -
"the weapons ["assault weapons] banned by this legislation were used only rarely in gun crimes before the ban"

"The ban has failed to reduce the average number of victims per gun murder incident or multiple gunshot wound victims."

"...the banned guns are used in only a small fraction of gun crimes; even before the ban, most of them rarely turned up in law enforcement agencies' requests... to trace the sales histories of guns recovered in criminal investigations."

"The ban's short-term impact on gun violence has been uncertain"

From The FINAL June 2004 "Updated Assessment On The Federal Assault Weapon Ban" Report To Congress -
"AWs [Assault weapons] were used in only a small fraction of gun crimes prior to the ban"

"...we cannot clearly credit the ban with any of the nation's recent drop in gun violence."

"...there has been no discernible reduction in the lethality and injuriousness of gun violence... as we might have expected had the ban reduced crimes committed with AWs (assault weapons) and LCMs (large-capacity magazines)."

"Thus, it is premature to make definitive assessments of the ban's impact on gun violence."

THE DEFINITIVE CONGRESSIONAL REPORTS ON THE "ASSAULT WEAPON" ALL BAN SHOWED THAT IT "FAILED" TO REDUCE GUN-MURDERS.



FACT: "Assault weapons" are NOT "machine guns".
They are "semi-automatic" meaning one pull of the trigger=one bullet discharged while the next bullet is then chambered ready for the next trigger pull. "Assault weapons" are not full-auto firearms and they do NOT "spray" bullets with a single pull of the trigger.
"ASSAULT WEAPONS" ARE NOT MACHINE-GUNS.



FACT: The "Assault weapon" Ban had NOTHING to do with silencers.
One of the cosmetic features addressed by the "Assault Weapon" Ban included flash-suppressors which reduce the bright muzzle-glare ONLY in the eyes of the shooter in low-light conditions. Flash-suppressors do NOT "hide" the bright flash from any other observer and do NOT "silence" the very loud report of the gunshot sound.
"FLASH-SUPPRESSORS" ARE NOT "SILENCERS" AND DO NOT MAKE THE SHOOTER "INVISIBLE" AT NIGHT.



FACT: The Columbine-Killers did not violate any provision of "Assault Weapon" ban.
The firearms used in Columbine included two shotguns (like those used for duck hunting), a pistol and a legally-produced TEC-9 "assault weapon". The AWB did not stop those two UNDERAGE killers from illegally acquiring them or illegally bringing them to school or illegally murdering 13 people.
THE "ASSAULT WEAPON" BAN DID NOT TAKE GUNS OUT OF THE HANDS OF CRIMINALS.



FACT: The "Assault Weapon" Ban did NOT actually ban "assault weapons"
The ban only prohibited the NEW PRODUCTION of certain firearms based on cosmetic features. There were hundreds of thousands of "assault weapons" legally owned, bought and sold BEFORE the ban was implemented and, DESPITE the overall drop in crime rates during the ban, there were STILL hundreds of thousands of "assault weapons" legally owned, bought and sold during the 10 years of the ban's existance.
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF EXISTING "UZIs, AR-15s AND AK-47s" WERE COMPLETELY LEGAL TO OWN, BUY AND SELL FOR THE ENTIRE DURATION OF THE FEDERAL "ASSAULT WEAPON BAN" - AND YET CRIME RATES STILL DECREASED.



FACT: The 2nd Amendment is NOT about "duck hunting".
Military-style firearms (like "assault weapons") are specifically protected by the 2nd Amendment according to the U.S. Supreme Court rulings in U.S. v. Miller (1939) and Lewis v. U.S. (1980).
* In the Miller decision the Supreme Court stated, "In the absence of any evidence tending to show that possession of [a particular gun] has some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia, we cannot say that the Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear such an instrument".
* In the Lewis decision, the Supreme Court stated, "the Second Amendment guarantees no right to keep and bear a firearm that does not have 'some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well-regulated militia'".
SO ACCORDING TO THE SUPREME COURT, MILITARY-STYLE FIREARMS ARE EXACTLY THE TYPE OF FIREARMS THAT ARE PROTECTED BY THE 2ND AMENDMENT.



FACT: Nobody NEEDS to infringe on the 2nd Amendment in order to reduce crime.

Our RIGHTS do not ebb and flow or come and go with the annual crime reports.

Our RIGHTS do not depend upon what today's gangbangers or psychopaths decide to do to get their next thrill or rage out.

Our RIGHTS are not contingent upon, qualified by nor based on what CRIMINALS use to commit crimes!

Our RIGHTS are derived from natural law, specifically protected by the Constitution and are NOT dependant on the findings in any crime studies!!!

Banning the possession of "assault weapons" because of some crime statistics is like banning the possession of sports cars because of drunk driving deaths or like banning the possession of the boxcutters because of 9-11.

OUR RIGHTS ARE NOT PREDICATED ON THE MOST RECENT CRIME STATISTICS!

---

It's Not Just A Gun...

It's My "HOMELAND DEFENSE RIFLE"!!

[Tarpon]

Miami-Dade, Democrats’ “New Orleans” in Florida, without the levee scandals.

[TLI]

It's My "HOMELAND DEFENSE RIFLE"!!

in the bush I hang one of these on...

[KenHorse]

Local police say the numbers of murders committed with assault weapons has been steadily rising since the ban expired on Sept. 13, 2004.

Prove it....

[Travis McGee]

Just wait until Hillary is in the casa blanca..........

We ain't seen nothing yet.

[oyez]

``There’s absolutely no reason I can see having these weapons out on the street.’’

Criminals can see a reason, therefore I see no reason for having those criminals on the streets. Lock their butts up.

Banning weapons will not remove them from the criminals’ hands. Nothing will change, except good citizens loose their civil rights.

Lawyers will be certain the criminals don’t loose theirs. So the revolving doors of the spineless justice system will keep turning.

That's not what the founding fathers intended

[Blood of Tyrants]

No surprise. The vast majority of big city cops are liberal appointees of liberal mayors.

[Blood of Tyrants]

"''While I feel very strongly about the Second First Amendment, I don't think that our founding fathers had AK-47s the Internet and high speed printing presses in mind,'' he said"

Two can play that game.

[moonman]

"In the city of Miami, 20 percent of murders this year were committed with assault weapons, up from 4 percent in 2004"

I find this very hard to believe.

[Panzerlied]

Where did we end up becoming a nation of sniveling, whining, bed-wetters, where crap like this even comes up? I’m guessing the New Deal.

[Sender]

If someone had come up to Thomas Jefferson or Alexander Hamilton or John Adams and said, “Here is a rifle that can fire 30 times without reloading”, I am quite certain that they would have wanted every able-bodied American to own one.

[Sender]

The antigun people look at "the people" as a crowd that must be controlled. They look at us much as a warden looks at his inmates; they assume that if we are able, we will do something terrible. Their mentality of control thinks only of depriving individuals of the means of doing something terrible. Take away their hardware, and they will be manageable.

Our founding fathers looked at "the people" in an utterly opposite manner. They assumed that Americans would, for the most part, be decent and moral people, and that their rights were a sacred tenet of our existence. They believed in innocence until proven guilty, and in the right to live one's life as one pleases, without undue interference from any government. They praised the benefit of virtuous people being armed. They had it right.

John Adams said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” And he was right on the money. A moral and religious people, armed with effective weapons, makes for the safest and most polite society imaginable.

So now we have crack dealers and gang bangers. I'm sure there were contemporary equivalent types of people 200 years ago. The difference is that back then, when someone did terrible things, he bore personal responsibility for his actions and he paid the price. No one would have thought for a moment that everyone should be disarmed if a bad man shot someone, they would have gone after the bad man and removed him from society, and possibly from life. Then the moral and religious people went on with their lives.

Now we have Ted Kennedy and Schumer and Hillary! who have the warden mentality. Worse, they have a socialist warden mentality. However, they are not stupid. They know exactly how we think, and what we hold dear. They know what the penalty for high treason is, and what the second amendment was designed to cure. They don't want the second amendment to be implemented. They tried to legislate it away, they tried to explain it as a state's right, they tried to sweep it under the rug and demonize it and call it a hunting clause. But they know what it means.

We're more than 50-50 likely to have a Democrat in the White House in 2008, with a Democratic Congress. It could be the "perfect storm" for legislation.

Buy now. Buy a lot. Because you just never know.

[Travis McGee]

Yep, the time to BLOAT is before the perfect storm.

[budwiesest]

Yep, the time to BLOAT is before the perfect storm.

Last year, I wanted to 'Buy Lots Of Ammo Today' but other things kept getting priority. This year, with the frequency of attacks on innocents reaching a level on par with some banana republics, I'm prepared to invest in ammo and gear beyond that which I had envisioned last year.

Secondly, with the barriers to permits available to residents of California who would like to carry, one has to weigh the risk of compliance against an untimely visit to the morgue. Logic, given today's cultural 'climate', leans heavily toward non-compliance. Just sayin'.

[goldstategop]

These are not fully automatic weapons. The term "assault weapon" is misleading. Sure, criminals misuse semi-automatic rifles but no one talks of banning them. The difference between the AK-47 style rifles and other semi-automatic long guns is purely cosmetic.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[caver]

I don’t think the article mentioned whether the shooter had a criminal record. I would bet that he did and that he is out on the street with the help of some lib judge. These liberal judges and lawyers are the true danger to cops on the street. If they keep them locked up, then they won’t hurt anyone.

[5Madman2]

This is typical of the IACP-they are politcal animals that do not speak for the rank and file

[EdReform]

Be prepared

[Travis McGee]

Excellent source and reference book. I don’t agree with Boston 100% on his choices, but the differences are not major, and there is more info on modern practical weaponry packed into that opus than any other book I can think of. It should be on the shelf of anybody who has ever pondered what might be in our future, who then thought of guns.