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With the war in Iraq and controversial domestic issues at the forefront of political debate, national and statewide gun policies have often been lost in the shuffle of public discourse. Yet almost two months after the Sept. 13 expiration of a contentious 10-year federal ban on assault rifles -- which prohibited the sale and possession of semiautomatic firearms with certain features -- many candidates currently running for office are taking stances on the level of restrictions the government should place on which guns Americans can own and where they can take their firearms.
Presidential race
In the race for the White House, candidates George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry have identified themselves as sportsmen, but have both spoken out in favor of some restrictions on gun ownership. Their campaigns have primarily focused on the recent sunset of the assault weapons ban.
The ban outlawed specific brands of firearms and several firearm features, such as pistol grips and ammunition magazines that held more than 10 rounds. A provision in the law set the ban to expire this year unless Congress renewed it, which it did not.
During the final presidential debate on Oct. 13, President Bush said he supported extending the ban, but did not encourage Congress to reinstate it because of bipartisan advocacy against it.
Bush added that "law-abiding citizens ought to be able to own a gun," but said he believes background checks should be necessary everywhere guns are purchased.
The president also said comprehensive prosecution of those who commit gun crimes is "the best way to protect our citizens from guns." Bush said prosecutions of gun crimes have risen about 68 percent under his administration.
"Neighborhoods are safer when we crack down on people who commit crimes with guns," Bush said. "To me, that's the best way to secure America." Project Safe Neighborhoods, a partnership between state and federal law enforcement agencies that targets criminal misuse of firearms, has "substantially increased the enforcement of existing gun laws," according to www.georgewbush.com. Violent crime rates have dropped 21 percent during the three years that Project Safe Neighborhoods has been in effect, and at least 72 percent of federal gun-crime convictions under the project have resulted in a prison sentence of three years or more, according to the Web site.
Kerry -- who said he is a hunter and gun owner, as well as a former district attorney -- harshly criticized Bush's stance on the assault weapons ban during the final debate. The senator called the expiration of the ban a "failure of presidential leadership" that allows terrorists to purchase
dangerous weapons. "Because of the
president's decision today, law enforcement officers will walk into a place that will be more dangerous," Kerry said. "Terrorists can now come into America and go to a gun show, and without even a background check, buy an assault weapon today. And that's what Osama bin Laden's handbook said -- because we captured it in Afghanistan."
Kerry said his views reflect those of the law enforcement community.
"I know something about prosecuting," he said. "And most of the law enforcement
agencies in America wanted that assault weapons ban. They don't want to go into a drug bust and be facing an AK-47."
Kerry also disputes Bush's claim that his administration has enforced existing gun laws, citing a Justice Department Inspector General report that showed less than 1
percent of the 120,000 people who illegally tried to purchase guns was prosecuted for the crimes, according to www.johnkerry.com.
Kerry also favors closing the "gun-show loophole," which allows guns to be
exchanged between private dealers and
buyers at gun shows without background checks, according to the site.
U.S. Senate race
Democratic candidate Ron Wyden said in an e-mail statement that he supported renewing the ban on assault weapons. During his last four years in office, Wyden has voted on several gun-control-related bills in the Senate.
In 2004, Wyden voted "no" on the
unsuccessful Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which would have prohibited certain civil lawsuits against gunmanufacturers pertaining to acts of criminal misuse.
Wyden voted "yes" in 2000 on a rejected amendment to bar gun manufacturers from being released from debts brought about by lawsuits charging fraud, negligence or product liability.
He voted "no" in 1999 on a bill allowing for voluntary background checks on all firearm sales at gun shows. He also voted in 1999 to keep a motion that required that all gun sales at gun shows be completed by federally licensed gun dealers.
In 1998, he voted "no" on an amendment that prohibited charging prospective gun owners a fee to cover the cost of a background check and that required the destruction of information used during a background check. He also voted in 1998 in support of an amendment that made it unlawful for gun dealers to sell handguns without providing trigger locks.
Republican candidate Al King said that because he's a gun owner and former law enforcement officer, he understands gun issues.
King said the assault weapons ban is a "myth" because "assault eapons are in the eye of the beholder" and are sometimes less dangerous than smaller, easier to conceal weapons.
"A lot of this is myth and we need to dispel that myth and get down to what we really want to do -- we want to make people safe," he said.
He said citizens should have the right to bear arms and form a militia, which the ban infringed upon.
"That's another case where the government said, 'it's ok for me, but it's not ok for you the citizens,'" he said. "I don't believe that our founding fathers and the Second Amendment intended for the government to be special."
King, who said he worked as a police officer at the University of California, Davis, said schools should be allowed to prohibit concealed weapons on campus.
"I think that the universities and the colleges and schools have a right to set that kind of standard," he said.
King said all firearms are dangerous, but can be regulated with safety training and strict enforcement of existing gun laws.
"I don't have any problem with training, classes, requirements for things like that, but I believe in the right to bear those weapons," he said.
King also said manufacturers of weapons should be protected from lawsuits by gun-crime victims.
"It's not the manufacturers of the weapons that are responsible for the killing, it's the people, and people don't need guns when they want to kill," he said.
Congressional race
Jim Feldkamp, Republican candidate, said he is a "Second Amendment supporter," but doesn't see gun control as a key issue in this election.
Feldkamp said he probably wouldn't have voted to extend the assault weapon ban if he had been in Congress when it expired, saying the ban applied to weapons it shouldn't have.
"They're technically not really assault weapons," he said of some semiautomatic firearms covered by the ban.
Feldkamp added that students should be allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus.
"If a student has a concealed weapon permit, I don't feel that's an issue," he said. "They're complying with the law."
Democratic candidate Peter DeFazio also voted on several gun-related issues during the last four years.
He voted "yes" in 2003 on a bill that prohibited liability lawsuits from being brought against gun makers and sellers based on the criminal misuse of firearms.
He voted "no" on a passed amendment in 1999 to decrease the time allowed for a background check at a gun show from 72 hours to 24. He also voted yes in 1999 on a passed amendment that would make it illegal for anyone who commits a violent act as a juvenile to own a gun once he or she turns 18.
DeFazio voted "yes" in 1998 on a successful bill imposing mandatory minimum prison terms for crimes committed with a firearm during drug trafficking.
parkerhowell@dailyemerald.comComments
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