Sunday's New York Times (reg. req'd) had a good article on the LACK of negative impact from the sunsetting of the AWB after seven months. [ACE has a copy and will add quotes from it later.]
Say Anything gives this quote from it:
Despite dire predictions that the streets would be awash in military-style guns, the expiration of the decade-long assault weapons ban last September has not set off a sustained surge in the weapons’ sales, gun makers and sellers say. It also has not caused any noticeable increase in gun crime in the past seven months, according to several metropolitan police departments.
Gun control advocates have already spun this, saying the law was ineffective and never slowed down assault weapons sales.
That's true [since the manufacturers only had to make cosmetic changes and high-capacity mags could be bought through other channels], but it misses the point that, with the exception of a few high-profile mass killings, "assault" weapons are not the firearm of choice for street use. A government report covered in an earlier A-C-E post said the impact of the ban could not be statistically measured.
It was a "feel good" law providing no solution to the REAL problem in America: A minute subset of the millions of gun owners mis-using guns for illegal purposes. Laws don't impede criminals.
In metro Atlanta this weekend, one officer was killed and another injured during a car stop in a drug-infested area; and two teens were shot and killed at parties. No assault weapons were involved.
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