Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2007

The Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2007 (H.R.1022) is a gun control bill introduced in the House on February 13, 2007 by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.). The bill was referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary, and then to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security on March 19, 2007. While there were no cosponsors originally, the bill gained 34 co-sponsors by March 22, 2007. An additional seven cosponsors signed on after the April 16, 2007 Virginia Tech Massacre.

House


Provisions
The measure would reinstate for ten years repealed criminal provisions regarding assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices. It would revise the definition of "semiautomatic assault weapon" to include kits for converting a firearm to such a weapon and any semiautomatic rifle or pistol that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine and that has specified characteristics, including a telescoping stock. It prohibits the transfer of such a weapon except through a licensed dealer or a state or local law enforcement agency who whill be subject to requirements.

The bill would direct the Attorney General (AG) to establish and maintain a record of the make, model, and date of manufacture of any such weapon which the AG is made aware has been used in relation to a crime, and of the nature and circumstances of the crime involved. Also, the AG would be required to annually submit the record to Congress and make it available to the public. In addition, the measure would prohibit the transfer of any assault weapon with a large capacity ammunition feeding device, the transfer of such a weapon or device to a juvenile, and the importation of such a device.

Cosponsors
As of April 26, 2007, the bill had collected the following cosponsors :

Background
In 2004, Congress failed to renew the original assault weapon ban, passed in 1994, which had a sunset provision. Bush had promised to sign the bill, but did not pressure the Republican-led Congress to pass the meassure.

External resources

 * OpenCongress page on the bill
 * Memorandum Opinion for the Attorney General (DOJ): Whether the Second Amendment Secures an Individual Right
 * Gun (Weapons) Control Timeline, 380 B.C. to 1997.
 * Gun Control, Yahoo! News updated/current news articles.
 * Criminal Justice Resources: Gun Control, Michigan State University Library.
 * Gun Control, University of North Texas.
 * Guide: "Gun Laws, Gun Control and Gun Rights", JURIST: The Legal Education Network: Comprehensive web site with links to news releases, current cases, current legislation, presidential candidate positions (Al Gore and George W. Bush), information on the Second Amendment, case law, statutes, books, articles, legal scholars, statistics and reports, government agencies, advocacy, etc.
 * Gun Control, adapted from a report by William Krouse, Congressional Research Service. Updated October 3, 2002.
 * Gun Control, American Civil Liberties Union position.
 * Gun Control vs. Gun Rights, OpenSecrets.
 * The Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence
 * GunCite Discussion of Gun Control and Second Amendment.
 * Gun Control, Washington Post special.
 * Global Gun Control, Washington Post special.
 * Gun Control, TIME newsfile.
 * Gun Control: The Great Debate, ABC News.
 * Canadian Gun Control, about.com.
 * Gun Control, Australia.
 * The Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Report of the Subcommittee on the Constitution of the U.S. Senate, 97th Congress, February 1982.
 * David B. Kopel, Trust the People: The Case Against Gun Control, Cato Institute, July 11, 1988.
 * Gun Control, Cato Institute Handbook for 107th Congress.
 * U.S. Justice Fund, Open Society Institute.

As a political issue, U.S. presidential election, 2004

 * Gun Control: Political Leaders on the Issues, issues2000.org.
 * Sensible Gun Laws, Dean for America.
 * Candidates on Guns, a project of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence/Coalition web site (Current as of April 29, 2004)

External articles

 * Douglas Turner, "Despite tragedy, no will for gun limit renewal The Assault Weapons Ban, which expired in 2004, would have restricted the firepower available to the Virginia Tech killer, but Congress is not interested in reauthorization,"The Buffalo News, April 23, 2007.


 * Jon Dougherty, "The New World Disorder," WorldNetDaily, June 8, 2003: "United Nations to host global gun-control event. Conference backs measures to track, confiscate, destroy various weapons."
 * "U.S. Justice Dept. concludes 2nd is an 'Individual Right'," TechnoCrat, December 19, 2004.