Semi Automatic Weapon Ban Lifted

quote Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier Online

WATERLOO --- Some local police agencies say a federal weapons law scheduled to sunset today will place officers in danger.

The assault weapons ban enacted in 1994 outlaws 19 semiautomatic weapons, limits the capacity of ammunition clips and prohibits rifles with certain military features.

It will come off the books today.

Police chiefs say the move will mean more advanced weapons in the community.

Critics, who are glad to see the ban go, say it was instituted under false presumptions and did more to infringe on Constitutional rights than it did to lower crime.

Local gun dealers say they don't think the change in the law will lead to increased sales.

"My concern would be the more weapons and high-power weapons made available, the more opportunity there is for the weapons to be used," said Rick Ahlstrom, chief of the Cedar Falls Police Department.

Ahlstrom was one of 95 Iowa police chiefs and 13 sheriffs to support strengthening the ban, according to Iowans for the Prevention of Gun Violence, a nonprofit group that collects gun death data and lobbies lawmakers.

The chief said assault rifles aren't good for defending a home because the powerful ammunition can penetrate walls and injure family members and others.

"These are not close-quarters weapons," Ahlstrom said.

Jerry Greenlee, assistant chief for the Waverly Police Department, is concerned the guns can hold more ammunition and fire rapidly.

"They are more accurate at a longer distance than a handgun or shotgun," he said.

But Peter Thompson, a gunsmith and firearms dealer in Waterloo, said assault rifles aren't any more dangerous than shotguns.

If he had a choice, he'd rather have an AK-47 assault rifle with a 30-round clip used against him than a shotgun with eight shells of buckshot. An attacker doesn't have to be as accurate with a shotgun, and the wounds are worse, he said.

Thompson said the cost of a semi-automatic rifle --- upwards of $500 --- places it beyond the reach of average criminals.

Aside from the size of clips, ammunition wasn't an element of the assault weapons ban. The law made illegal any semiautomatic rifle that takes detachable magazines and has two or more military features like a folding stock, pistol grip, bayonet mount or flash suppresser.

Critics are quick to point out that the ban did little because there were plenty of "pre-ban" weapons --- guns that were exempt because they were made before the ban. The same was true for ammo clips.

And many guns made during the ban were simply the same weapons minus the offending features.

Although companies like ArmaLite, which makes the popular AR-15, are offering "Post-PostBan" programs to bring weapons sold during the 10-year ban into the newly legalized configurations, local gun dealers don't anticipate there will be a demand for assault weapons.

"The market dropped out," said Tom Biemann, owner of Duee's Pawn & Gun in Waterloo. "The people bought all the assault rifles when they started to ban the stuff."

Dell Shook, a gunsmith for 27 years, said the law was made to satisfy anti-gun groups and did little more than irritate gun owners.

September 13, 2004