WASHINGTON -- With pressure building for a total ban on semiautomatic 'assault weapons,' the Bush administration Wednesday halted the importation of the rapid-fire guns linked to escalating violence and the illegal drug trade.
White House press secretary Marlin Fitzwater said a March 14 temporary ban on the import of 25 types of semiautomatics was being expanded to cover the remaining 24 foreign-made versions that had been allowed into the country.
Last month, in reversal of President Bush's initial position on the controversial issue, the administration temporarily banned import of 25 types of semiautomatics pending a review to determine whether the weapons, as required by law, have a legitimate sporting use.
Fitzwater said Wednesday's action was prompted by complaints by makers of previously banned guns that they were put at a competitive disadvantage to those who were allowed to keep shipping semiautomatics to the United States.
'The decision (to expand the ban) was based on competitive fairness,' Fitzwater told reporters at the White House.
'This is really just a mid-course correction,' he said. The federal review of the weapons for sporting use is expected to be completed within 90 days of the initial import ban, or by June 11.
Bush, a lifetime member of the anti-gun control National Rifle Association, had initially opposed the import ban. But he switched following pleas from police groups as well as a recommendation from his new anti-drug czar, William Bennett.
Fitzwater acknowledged the action still permits domestic production of semiautomatics, which fire each time the trigger is pulled. Likewise, the ban on imports does not affect the sale of guns already in the country. The prices of such weapons have risen sharply in recent weeks as pressure for controls has increased.
At a Capitol Hill hearing on a bill to halt semiautomatic imports and curb their sales, Rep. William Hughes, D-N.J., said, 'These assault weapons are designed for one purpose -- to kill as many human beings as possible as quickly as possible.'
The proposed bill would require current owners to register such firearms. It would bar specific models, as well as establish design and technical specifications of weapons to be barred from import.
They include assault rifles as the AK-47 used by Patrick Edward Purdy to kill five children and injure 30 others in a schoolyard at Stockton, Calif., in January.
'I fear if we do not act now, time will pass and the memory of Stockton will fade, and it will take another tragedy as Stockton to shock us all to our senses,' Rep. Tom Campbell, R-Calif., told the committee.
Fitzwater said Wednesday the Treasury Department had recommended an expansion of the initial ban following complaints from importers, including one that filed suit, as well as early findings from the review.
He said the department determined that the 24 other types of semiautomatics were similar in 'appearance and capability' to the banned ones and 'competed directly' with them.
The expanded ban would end that competitive disadvantage and prevent 'the import of firearms that might be determined later to be unsuitable for sporting purposes,' he said.
The guns initially banned included the Soviet-designed AKS-type weapons and the Uzi carbine, as well as Belgian FN-FAL-type weapons and Steyr Aug semiautomatics. They represented about 80 percent of the nation's semiautomatic imports. Fitzwater said the expanded ban covers the rest.
According to the NRA, there are more than 30 million semiautomatics in the United States, the vast majority owned by law-abiding sportsmen. These guns normally carry magazines of four rounds.
Police say a rising number of criminals, though, particularly drug gangs, have armed themselves with so-called semiautomatic 'assault weapons,' which have magazines carrying upwards of 20 rounds.
Despite that difference, there is no universal definition for 'assault weapons' and Fitzwater said Tuesday the administration has yet to settle on one itself.
Sponsors of gun control bills in Congress maintain their target is 'assault weapons,' not semiautomatics owned by sportsmen, such as the popular Remington 4. A Senate bill would prohibit specific 'assault weapons,' such as the AK-47, as well as any other gun determined to be 'functionally indentical.'
The NRA, however, maintains all semiautomatics are functionally the same and that any permanent ban would hurt sportsmen. Bush says he favors balancing the rights of sportsmen with the concerns of police worried about being outgunned by criminals.
