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Yesterday, we discussed the Assault Weapon ban bill introduced in the Washington State Legislature recently.
The bill proposes to ban a wide category of firearms, primarily based on cosmetics. The writers say that it is based on the 1994 Clinton Assault Weapon ban. This ban was a decade-long Federal law which criminalized the sale of a number of firearms based on their cosmetics; later studies showed that it was ineffective in stopping crime.
Now State Senators Kohl-Welles and Kline have explained their rationale in the Everett Herald; through their explanation they have laid bare their ignorance on the subject.
They open their piece by alleging that "many semi-automatic assault rifles...can easily be converted to fully automatic with minor after-market modifications, and are often purchased with that purpose in mind." This myth has been circulating amongst the gun-banning crowd for years. The "easy" conversion takes the milling of several parts; kits are not available online. An FBI report showed the only 0.15% of 4,000 firearms confiscated in Los Angeles were converted; only 0.3% had any evidence of an attempt at conversion.
They point out that the bullets shot from semi-automatic guns can be as lethal as those shot from fully automatic guns. Compelling, but specious. Of course the bullets from semi-automatics can be as lethal as those shot from automatics guns, as can those shot from 200-year-old flintlocks or the blow from a sledgehammer. Centers for Disease Control data shows that In 2006, 121,599 people in accidents; 43,664 in car crashes, 20,823 in falls, 27,531 in poisoning. Each of these mechanisms were just as lethal as the next.
Passing a law like the assault weapons ban is a symbolic, purely symbolic move ... Its only real justification is notto reduce crime but to desensitize the public to the regulation of weapons in preparation for their ultimate confiscation." -- Charles Krauthammer, The Washington Post, April 5, 1996
40 police officers were killed by semi-automatic in the last 4 years they tell us. They use this as a reason to ban "assault weapons". By stretching the definition of assault weapons, they include this statistic in their argument. They fail to point out that most guns sold nation-wide are semi-automatics; they are the type of guns used by police officers. Most cars involved in crashes have automatic transmissions -- that is the type most commonly sold. Blaming the tool is a compelling argument, but ignores the problem of criminal behavior. Maurice Clemmons, the murderer of the Lakewood Police officers used a revolver to kill the first officers before he stole the gun of one of the officers.
This legislation was not introduced to limit the rights of responsible gun owners and is an important step toward ensuring the safety of our police and preventing future large-scale tragedies." -- Kohl-Welles and Kline
Actually, the truth is the rights of responsible gun owners are limited. Not only does their bill restrict the Second Amendment rights of responsible gun owners, but the bill requires that responsible gun owners give up their Fourth Amendment rights by allowing the sheriff to search their homes annually. Most would argue that taking away Fourth Amendment rights is a limit.
If this is an "important step" as the Senators say, then their journey only ends with a ban on all firearms, their true agenda.
As shown by studies after the Federal Assault Weapon Ban, restricting the sale of a gun based on cosmetics does not decrease crime. Kohl-Welles and Kline know that. If not, they should do their homework and find out.
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Keep it simple and clean. I own a delete key.