http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascitystar/news/opinion/5869091.htm
Posted on Fri, May. 16, 2003
Maintain ban of 
semiautomatic weapons

Political leadership often requires doing not what is popular but what is right and best for the country. From that standpoint, House Republicans will have failed miserably if they do not renew the federal ban on semiautomatic weapons.

The ban will expire unless Congress approves new legislation by Sept. 13, 2004. Republican leaders in the House already have said they will not promote such legislation. President Bush apparently will not aggressively pursue renewal of the ban. That is disappointing.

There is no logical reason for making semiautomatic weapons legal again. They are useless for hunters, and unlikely to be helpful for self-defense. They can, however, be used for the indiscriminate slaughter of human beings.

Legalization of the sale and manufacture of such weapons would re-create the killing fields that haunted so many urban areas during the 1980s.

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and other top Republicans should reconsider their stance and begin working on legislation to keep semiautomatic weapons off our streets. And if Congress is not motivated to act, President Bush should step forward and demand an extension of the ban.
CORRECTION

Weapons ban

A Friday editorial favoring continuation of a weapons ban should have referred to the ban as applying to semiautomatic assault weapons. Some semiautomatics [That should read most semi-automatic rifles] do not fall under the ban.

From:     Don Dycus
To:          Kansas City Star
Sent:       Friday, May 16, 2003 9:33 AM
Subject:  Semi-automatic weapons ban

While Star editorials regularly betray a startling aversion to facts, the screed "Maintain Semi-Automatic Weapons Ban" (5/16) sets a remarkable new standard. The editorial apparently refers to the Assault Weapons Ban, which will automatically sunset next year.

The AWB does not outlaw semi-automatic firearms, which automatically chamber a round with each shot fired, but which fire only once per trigger pull. A large variety of semi-automatic pistols, rifles, and shotguns are perfectly legal and may be purchased today at your favorite retailer. The editors, like other hysterical gunphobes, apparently confuse semi-autos with fully automatic firearms, which automatically fire and reload an entire magazine of ammunition with a single trigger pull. Civilian ownership of full-auto firearms is restricted by the 1934 National Firearms Act, which is unaffected by allowing the AWB to sunset.

The AWB prohibits the sale of firearms with particular militaristic features, like pistol grips and bayonet lugs, that some people find intimidating, but which in no way distinguish the function of these guns from their more cosmetically appealing counterparts. More aptly named the "Ugly Gun Ban," the Assault Weapons Ban doesn't do what its sponsors purport, nor what its supporters believe. It is a silly, feel-good, sop by and for people who've no idea what they're talking about, as the Star editors ably demonstrate.

Keep up the good work. Remember, feelings always trump facts. If you're looking for some new editors or columnists, I understand Jayson Blair is available.