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Late Breaking News |
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| Date: July 21, 1998 4:06 pm Contact: Violence Policy Center Bill McGeveran at 202-822-8200, ext. 105, or Carolyn Puglia at 202-822-8200, ext. 106. |
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Latest News Releases
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VPC Releases Gun Industry Ads Exposing Giant Assault Weapon Loophole | ||
| WASHINGTON - July 21 - The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released a
package of gun industry advertisements showing how high-capacity magazines -- which were
outlawed under the 1994 assault weapons ban -- are still being sold legally because of a
loophole in the law. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has announced that she will offer an
amendment on the Senate floor Wednesday to close the loophole. The ads expose 10 of the numerous companies that still sell high-capacity "killer clips" by taking advantage of the 1994 law's "grandfather clause," which allows the sale of millions of magazines made before the ban took effect. These magazines are compatible with many semiautomatic firearms designed both before and after 1994, allowing them to fire more than 10 rounds without reloading. "This grandfather clause is a high-capacity loophole," said VPC Director of Federal Policy Kristen Rand. "Just put an old magazine on a new gun and -- voila! -- you beat the ban. You can have an assault weapon that is very lethal, but perfectly legal." One company has even taken the sale of killer clips a step further, the VPC ads demonstrate. Intratec, which once made the banned TEC-9 assault pistol, now sells a very similar weapon called the AB-10. The new gun is constructed with grandfathered TEC-9 magazines that can fire 32 shots without reloading. Feinstein's amendment, which she plans to offer to the Commerce/Justice/State Appropriations bill, would close the killer clip loophole by amending the assault weapons ban to prohibit the transfer or sale of grandfathered magazines. ------ Journalists who would like copies of the advertisements can call Bill McGeveran at 202-822-8200, ext. 105, or Carolyn Puglia at 202-822-8200, ext. 106. ------ The Violence Policy Center is a national non-profit educational organization that examines the role of firearms in America, conducts research on firearms violence, and works to decrease firearm-related death and injury. -0- |
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