[Imc-newsroom] PRESS RELEASE: Federal Assault Weapons Ban expires Monday, Sept. 13th

[Brooke Anderson]

For Immediate Release
September 10th, 2004

Contact:  Brooke Anderson
(217) 493-2637

Consumer group denounces President, Congress for 
expiration of the federal Assault Weapons Ban

Recent study shows that in advance of the ban's 
expiration, gun manufacturers are preparing to 
market more lethal, less expensive assault weapons

(CHAMPAIGN, IL)  -- Champaign County Health Care 
Consumers (CCHCC) is denouncing the President and 
Congress today for failing to act to renew the 
federal Assault Weapons Ban, which sunsets 
Monday, September 13th.

"Military-style assault weapons have no place in 
our neighborhoods and must remain illegal. A 
great majority of Americans support the ban, 
including a majority of gun owners and every 
major police organization in the country. In 
Illinois alone, 68.5% of voters support the 
renewal of the Assault Weapons Ban," said Brooke 
Anderson, CCHCC Community Organizer. "Time is 
running out for President Bush to act. He says he 
supports the ban, but he needs to encourage 
Congress to send him a renewed ban to sign into 
law."

With mere days until the scheduled expiration of 
the 1994 Federal Ban on Assault Weapons, the gun 
industry is finalizing plans to re-introduce 
military-style guns when the clock strikes 
midnight on September 14th.  This according to a 
new study, Back in Business: Gun Industry Plans 
for the Expiration of the Assault Weapons Ban, by 
the Consumer Federation of America (CFA).  The 
study, which was distributed by Champaign County 
Health Care Consumers, surveyed marketing 
departments at gun manufacturers during what 
could be the ban's final weeks.

"The gun industry is clearly gearing up for a 
marketing blitz that will make assault weapons 
more lethal and less expensive than ever before," 
said Brooke Anderson, CCHCC Community Organizer. 
"Allowing gun manufacturers to profit from the 
expiration of this ban is shameful."

"These kinds of marketing tactics are cause for 
grave concern about the increasing accessibility 
of assault weapons in the near future," added 
Susan Peschin, CFA Firearms Project Director. "In 
many ways, America's public safety loss is the 
gun industry's gain."

Through email responses from industry marketing 
representatives, interviews with gun industry 
experts, and manufacturer catalogs and websites, 
CFA found that, while many things won't change if 
the assault weapons ban expires, there will be 
some potentially significant ramifications:


 Assault weapons will be more lethal and less 
expensive.  High-capacity magazines will be back 
in production for civilian sale, and 
manufacturers will package them with new 
semi-automatic firearms.  Prices will drop as 
supply dramatically increases.


 Fueled by consumer nostalgia, makers of assault 
weapons will blitz the market with new models of 
guns banned under the 1994 law, such as AK-47s, 
TEC-9s and Uzis.  If the original manufacturers 
are out of business, existing manufacturers will 
buy the rights to the older weapon designs.


 Domestic manufacturers will be able to evade 
current executive orders banning the import of 
foreign made "non-sporting" assault weapons. By 
shipping key component parts to the United States 
and combining these foreign made parts with new 
U.S. made parts importers will be able to make 
fully legal pre-ban assault weapons.  The 
otherwise restricted assault weapons can then be 
sold legally in the United States.


 Law enforcement may be forced to adopt a more 
militaristic approach to policing. For example, 
officers may remain in their cruisers and ask 
individuals to come out of their cars during 
traffic stops, and they may employ armored 
vehicles for increased protection.  These tactics 
may eventually replace current law enforcement 
strategies such as Community Oriented Policing.

BACKGROUND: 1994 Congress passed and the 
President Clinton signed the federal Assault 
Weapons Ban (AWB) which bans semiautomatic 
assault weapons such as the Uzi, AK-47, and the 
TEC-9, as well as high-capacity ammunition 
magazines that hold more than ten rounds. 
However, the ban was passed with a 10-year sunset 
clause, and will therefore expire on September 
13th, 2004 unless Congress and the President 
renew it.

RESOURCES:

1. A copy of Back In Business can be or downloaded from our website at:
http://www.healthcareconsumers.org/Gun_Reg/BIB.pdf

2. A copy of the survey in which 68% of Illinois 
voters supported the renewal of the Assault 
Weapons ban can be downloaded from our website at:
http://www.healthcareconsumers.org/Gun_Reg/Fact_Sheets/AWB_Survey.pdf

    * You can also request materials by contacting 
Brooke Anderson at (217) 493-2637.

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Brooke Anderson
Champaign County Health Care Consumers
44 E. Main St., Suite 208
Champaign, IL 61820
Phone = (217) 352-6533, x 17
Fax = (217) 352-9745
Email = brooke at shout.net
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