Senator Edward M. Kennedy Statement on the Expiration of the Assault Weapons Ban

SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY STATEMENT ON THE EXPIRATION OF THE ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN

It is disgraceful that, as a result of President Bush's failure of leadership, the federal ban on assault weapons will expire at midnight tonight.

Assault weapons are killing machines with utterly no redeeming value in any sane society. They're intentionally designed to maximize their killing power by using a rapid rate of fire. They're intended to be spray-fired from the hip, so that the killer can fire many times as rapidly as possible. They're domestic weapons of mass destruction.

The expiration of the ban will put these weapons of death back in the hands of criminals, and will give terrorists a new tool to attack America. As the distinguished District Attorney of New York City, Robert Morgenthau, states in a letter today to the New York Times, "Assault weapons kill dozens in the blink of an eye. Terrorists know this, and know our laws; recovered training manuals urge them to obtain assault weapons in the United States. Will we really make their mission easier, three years after 9/11?"

Incredibly, the answer from the White House is "yes". In his 2000 campaign, George Bush pledged to renew the ban on assault weapons, saying "it makes no sense for assault weapons to be around our society." But as the expiration date for the ban approached, the silence from the White House has been deafening. One phone call from President Bush to the Republican leadership in Congress could have made all the difference. The last four years have shown that when the President genuinely wants something from this Republican Congress, he gets it. President Bush has refused to make that call, however, or take any other steps to extend the ban. He says he'll sign a bill if it gets to him, but he won't do anything to get it there. He's obviously decided that the interests of the gun lobby are more important than protecting the safety of our police officers, our streets, our neighborhoods, and our schools.

Critics say the ban was full of loopholes anyway, and it wasn't effective. If that's true, why don't they let the ban continue?

Obviously, that argument doesn't hold water. Why should we make it any easier for a terrorist who slips across the border to pick up an assault weapon, go to some American school, and turn it into the kind of killing field we've just seen in Russia?

The expiration of the assault weapons ban is a tragic and shameful blow to homeland security, and President Bush is responsible. On November 2nd, the American people will have the chance to hold him accountable.