The national ban on assault weapons expired Sept. 13, making it legal to purchase AK-47s, Uzis, TEC-9s and other assault weapons.
The expiration of the ban, imposed by former President Bill Clinton in 1994, pleases some gun owners, but has critics furious.
A clause in the ban stipulated that it would expire unless Congress took specific action to reinstate it, which it did not.
"The fact that the Republican-controlled Congress couldn't allow time to extend this critical piece of legislation is a clear example of their disregard for our national security, and I think one would be hard-pressed to find a police officer in this country [that] would disagree," said Greg Wasserstrom, president of the AU College Democrats. "Letting the ban lapse is nothing more than bowing to the will of a powerful corporate lobby."
The federal ban prohibited the sale of 19 types of semiautomatic weapons with specified features, such as bayonet attachments and flash suppressors. Allowed weapons included 10-round ammunition magazines that did not include two or more features like a pistol grip, bayonet mount or grenade launcher. These were all features included on military weapons, which were not included in the ban.
However, the assault weapon ban was not effective, according to National Rifle Association spokeswoman Autumn Fogg.
"We are making it known that gun control has no effect on crime," Fogg said. "The banned firearms are never used to commit crimes." She also called the ban "largely cosmetic."
Mike Inganamort, president of the AU College Republicans, agreed.
"It's a scare tactic to say that the expiration of the gun ban will result in more violence," he said. "After all, any plain old rifle ... can do the exact same thing as one of these previously banned guns with only minor cosmetic changes. Banning only the guns that look a certain way appeases rhetoric-prone voters, but does not take an honest approach to the issue."
The American Civil Liberties Union said that it had not yet reached a decision regarding its position on the issue.
The House Republican leadership wants the lift on bans to go further. Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.) proposed a measure to repeal the ban on handguns in D.C. He said he hopes that the issue will be up for a vote before the election.
The repeal would end bans on both semi-automatic assault weapons and handguns. The repeal would also roll back requirements to register weapons, as well as decriminalize possession of unregistered firearms and carrying a handgun.
Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) is trying to get the measure passed as an amendment to the city's 2005 budget. If it passed, it would make it easier for the repeal to pass in Congress this fall.
