Oakland Shootings Call for Ban on Assault Weapons
La Opinión, Posted: Mar 26, 2009
LOS ANGELES -- The shooting deaths of four Oakland police officers at the hands of an individual wielding an AK-47 is the latest example of why the federal law should reinstate its ban on assault weapon, according to an editorial in La Opinión. The sale of 19 categories of assault rifles was banned for 10 years until 2004, when the law was allowed to expire. Critics of the ban argue that it was a violation of the constitutionally guaranteed right to bear arms. However, a recent Supreme Court ruling suggested that second amendment protections do not necessarily cover "dangerous and unusual" weapons. Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, author of the original ban, is planning another bill to remove assault weapons from the market. There are already 65 Democratic lawmakers from rural parts of our country who oppose this legislation. The road toward eliminating assault weapons is not an easy one, editors write, but public safety must prevail.
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User Comments
Goodberg on Mar 29, 2009 at 12:15:33 said:
Bring back the death penalty for convicted killers and implement it within 3 years, provided it is 100%.
-->Mandatory 5 year jail sentences for commiting a crime with a gun, so there should be a fear of going to jail. Flip the fear to the criminal side.