NY's "favorite" Senator is at it again...Seems he is trying to coax the rest of the nation and the House of Representatives giving their stamp of approval to extend the assault weapon ban. I like the way he posts himself in front of a K-Mart...K-Mart never even sold "assault" weapons...
CHUCK URGES STORE GUN BAN By STEPHANIE GASKELL
August 23, 2004 -- Sen. Charles Schumer is urging Wal-Mart and Kmart department stores not to sell assault weapons, even though a federal ban will expire next month.
"You hear a lot about corporate responsibility these days well, this is an easy way for the big store chains to do the right thing for the communities they serve and keep military-style, cop-killing weapons off our streets," Schumer said yesterday during a press conference in front of Kmart on Astor Place, which never sold the weapons.
Unless Congress acts, a federal ban that was put in place in 1994 will expire next month.
Schumer said the assault weapons ban has been "a huge success" in keeping crime down. "In terms of safety, America will take a step back [if the law expires]," Schumer said.
Along with Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), Schumer wrote the original legislation a decade ago.
So far, the Senate has approved an extension of the ban, but the House has not.
"The gun lobby is very powerful," Schumer said.
If the ban expires, assault rifles will still be banned in New York under a stricter state law. Only seven states, including New York, have an assault weapons ban.
But Schumer pointed out that New York has the highest number of crimes committed with guns purchased out of state. In 2001, 3,662 crimes were committed with out-of-state guns.
Of those, 1,971 crimes involved guns bought in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. By contrast, in those five states, only 78 guns involved in a crime were sold in New York.
"If these assault weapons are available for sale Tuesday morning down South, it's a pretty sure bet they will be here by Tuesday night," Schumer said.
Schumer also warned that assault weapons could be bought and used by potential terrorists.
"These assault weapons only have one purpose to kill a lot of people quickly," Schumer said.
Wal-Mart and Kmart did not immediately return calls for comment.
