WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Last night, First Lady Laura Bush said
that her husband, George W. Bush, will "always tell you what he really
thinks." The ban on military-style semiautomatic assault weapons expires at
midnight on September 13.
The parents of the children who have died at the hands of killers armed
with these weapons remember candidate George W. Bush telling them that he
really thought the ban should be renewed. Police all over America, who face a
new wave of killers outfitted with 30, 50 or even 100-round ammunition clips,
remember what he said, too. About 50 officers have died from assault weapons
fire in the past six years alone.
The Republican National Convention focused on "compassionate
conservativism" last night. Speakers on the convention lineup include
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, New York Governor George Pataki,
and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, all strong supporters of
reauthorizing the assault weapons ban. But the President won't lift a finger
to save the law.
Next week, dozens of police chiefs are traveling to the nation's capitol
along with Americans who have lost a loved one to killers armed with those
weapons to urge President Bush to renew the ban. If he doesn't call for
action, the President will be showing that his compassion is limited to the
lunatics who want to stockpile Uzis, AK-47s and Tec-9s.
A quick review of some of what these weapons have done for American
families and police follows.
* The McDonald's shooting -- On July 18, 1984, James Huberty killed 21
people and wounded 19 others in a San Ysidro, California, McDonald's
using an UZI assault pistol and a shotgun.
* The Stockton schoolyard massacre -- On January 17, 1989, Patrick Purdy
killed 5 small children and wounded 29 others and a teacher at the
Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton, California, using a
semiautomatic version of the AK-47 assault rifle. That weapon had been
purchased from a gun dealer in Oregon and was equipped with a 75-round
"drum" magazine. Purdy shot 106 rounds in less than 2 minutes.
* The Louisville, Kentucky, workplace massacre -- On September 14, 1989,
Joseph Wesbecker killed 7 people and wounded 13 others at his former
place of work in Louisville, Kentucky, before taking his own life. Mr.
Wesbecker was armed with an AK-47 rifle, two MAC-11 assault pistols, and
a duffel bag full of ammunition.
* The CIA headquarters shootings -- On January 25, 1993, Pakistani
national Mir Aimal Kasi killed 2 CIA employees and wounded 3 others
outside the entrance to CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Kasi
used a Chinese- made semiautomatic AK-47 assault rifle equipped with a
30-round magazine purchased from a Northern Virginia gun store.
* The Branch-Davidian standoff in Waco, Texas -- On February 28, 1993,
while attempting to serve federal search and arrest warrants at the
Branch-Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, four ATF special agents were
killed and 16 others were wounded with an arsenal of assault weapons.
According to a federal affidavit, the cult had accumulated at least the
following assault weapons: 123 AR-15s, 44 AK-47s, 2 Barrett .50
calibers, 2 Street Sweepers, an unknown number of MAC-10 and MAC-11s, 20
100-round drum magazines, and 260 large-capacity banana clips. The
weapons were bought legally from gun dealers and at gun shows.
* The San Francisco Pettit & Martin shootings -- On July 1, 1993, Gian
Luigi Ferri killed 8 people and wounded 6 others at the San Francisco
law offices of Pettit & Martin and other offices at 101 California
Street. Ferri used two TEC-DC9 assault pistols with 50-round magazines.
These weapons had been purchased from a pawnshop and a gun show in
Nevada.
* The Columbine massacre -- On April 20, 1999, two deeply disturbed
students at Littleton, Colorado's Columbine High School used a Tec-9
assault weapon and shotguns to kill 13 and wound 21 before killing
themselves.
CONTACT: Peter Hamm of The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence,
+1-202-898-0792.
SOURCE The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence United with
the Million Mom
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Related links:
http://www2.bradycampaign.org
CONTACT:
Peter Hamm of The Brady Campaign to Prevent
Gun Violence, +1-202-898-0792
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