For Immediate Release

CeaseFire Maryland supports the assault weapons ban and law enforcement protection act of 2003

May 8th, 2003

Baltimore, MD: CeaseFire Maryland, formerly Marylanders Against Handgun Abuse, announced its strong support for the "Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2003" legislation introduced by Representatives John Conyers (D-MI) and Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY). The legislation will not only make the assault weapon and high-capacity magazine ban permanent, but will significantly strengthen current law.

The 1994 assault weapons ban will expire on September 12th, 2004, unless renewed by Congress and signed by the President. However, the ban needs strengthening since most of the assault weapons banned by name in 1994 are back on the market – entirely legal under existing law. Leah Barrett, Executive Director of CeaseFire Maryland, commented: "Assault weapons are guns designed for war and have no place on our streets or in our neighborhoods. Semiautomatic assault weapons are civilian versions of military assault weapons and they are the guns of choice of cop-killers, drug dealers, militias and gangs." She went on to say: "We welcome the fact that President Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft support a ban on assault weapons and we expect them to support the McCarthy/Conyers bill that would effectively ban these horrible weapons."

The gun industry has cravenly circumvented the intent of the law and continues to make assault weapons despite the 1994 ban. The Colt Match Target rifle is functionally identical to its predecessor, the AR-15. Moreover, the availability of AR-15 clones has exploded. Barrett said: "One need look no further than the Bushmaster rifle, an AR-15 clone, used by the Washington area snipers back in October to kill ten and wound three people." The May 2003 issue of a popular gun magazine gloats: "…ARs are far from dead. Stunned momentarily, they sprang back with a vengeance and seem better than ever. Purveyors abound producing post-ban ARs for civilians and pre-ban for government and law enforcement agencies, and new companies are joining the fray." There are several AK-47 clones as well.

Lisa Miller Delity, Board Member of CeaseFire MD said: "I, personally, feel particularly strongly about the need for this legislation, as my brother, FBI Agent Mike Miller, was shot and killed in 1994 by a man wielding a concealed TEC-9, an assault pistol that was banned under the current Assault Weapons Ban (AWB). However, soon after the AWB was in place, the manufacturer began making and selling the AB-10 (AB cynically for After Ban), which is essentially identical to the TEC-9. Many models of other supposedly banned assault guns are newly available. The bill introduced today by Reps. McCarthy and Conyers will ban precisely the weapons that the original AWB tried, but did not succeed, to ban, such as the one that killed my brother."

Military assault weapons were designed and developed for a specific military purpose – laying down a high volume of fire over a wide killing zone, also known as ‘hosing down’ an area. Al Qaeda and Jihad training manuals have advised terrorists to take advantage of American gun laws. Barrett concludes: "While the gun industry has cynically skirted the intent of the law and continues to make assault weapons for civilian use, scores of Americans continue to die, including law enforcement officials. Congress must act to pass the McCarthy/Conyers legislation to get these weapons of war off American streets."