| Semi-Automatic Firearms and the “Assault Weapon” Issue |
| Semi-automatic firearms were introduced more than a century ago. The first semi-automatic rifle, a Mannlicher, appeared in 1885; the first pistol, a Schonberger, in 1892; and the first shotgun, the legendary Browning Auto-5, in 1900. |
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| Senator Jon Tester and Representative Cynthia Lummis Introduce Bills to Protect the Importation of Historically Significant U.S.-Made Rifles |
| In February 2011, Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) introduced the Collectible Firearms Protection Act, S. 381 and H.R. 615, respectively. The bills propose to amend the Arms Export Control Act to guarantee that U.S.-made military firearms that were previously exported to a foreign government, and which under that law are eligible for re-importation into the U.S. as “curios and relics,”1 will not be blocked from importation. |
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| McCarthy/Lautenberg Bill Would Ban Common Self-Defense Magazines |
| On January 18, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) introduced H.R. 308, the “Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act.” On January 25, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) introduced the companion bill in the Senate, S. 32. The bills would ban the manufacture and importation of new magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition, and make it illegal for the tens of millions of Americans who already own these magazines to sell or otherwise transfer them, even through inheritance. Gun owners use the magazines for self-defense and target shooting, and as key parts of collectible firearms, as well as for other lawful purposes. |
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| Why State Legislatures Should Reject Semi-Automatic and Pump-Action Gun Bans |
| A dozen reasons why new gun bans being proposed in some state legislatures should be rejected. |
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| McCarthy Bill Bans Millions More Guns Than The Infamous Clinton Gun Ban |
| On Feb. 14, 2007, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) introduced H.R. 1022, a bill with the stated purpose, “to reauthorize the assault weapons ban, and for other purposes.” McCarthy’s choice of words warrants explanation. |
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| Top 10 Reasons The Clinton Gun Ban Was Allowed To Expire |
| The federal "assault weapon" ban championed by Bill Clinton expired September 13, 2004. Here are the top 10 reasons why it should never have been imposed in the first place. |
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| Good Riddance to the Clinton Gun Ban |
| Claiming people "can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans to legitimately own handguns and rifles," President Bill Clinton championed the federal "assault weapon" (AW) and "large" ammunition magazine ban, and signed it into law on Sept. 13, 1994. |
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| Semi-Automatic Firearms |
| Semi-automatic firearms were introduced more
than a century ago. The first semi-automatic rifle, a Mannlicher,
was introduced in 1885; the first semi-automatic pistol, a
Schonberger, in 1892; and John Browning patented his famous Auto-5
semi-automatic shotgun in 1900. President John F. Kennedy, an NRA
Life Member, owned an M1, a semi-automatic rifle used by the U.S.
Armed Forces during World War II and the Korean War, and owned by
hundreds of thousands of competitive target shooters and collectors
today. |
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| The 1994 Clinton Crime Bill's Firearm Provisions |
| President Clinton signed the 1994 federal Crime Bill into law on Sept. 13, 1994, including the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which made it a federal crime for a private individual to possess or transfer (sell, give, etc.) a "semiautomatic assault weapon" (AW) manufactured after that date. |
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| The Most Sweeping Gun Ban Ever Introduced in Congress--Clinton Gun Ban "Reenactment" Bans Millions More Guns |
| H.R. 2038/S. 1431, introduced by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), does not just "reenact" or "reauthorize" the 1994 Clinton Gun Ban--the federal "assault weapon" law. It bans millions more guns and begins backdoor registration of guns. |
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| Authors Of The 1994 Clinton Gun Ban Push To Expand It |
| On May 8, two bills to expand the 1994 Clinton Gun Ban, the so-called "assault weapon" law, were introduced in Congress. In the House of Representatives, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy introduced H.R. 2038, a bill to ban millions more guns than the Clinton ban does, by arbitrarily changing the federal definition of "assault weapon" so that it applies to more guns and basic types of guns than before. The bill also ban millions more ammunition magazines than the Clinton ban does, and it begins backdoor registration of gun owners. |
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