By:Jerry Burke
ÒEleven years ago, gun violence changed my life dramatically,Ó McCarthy began, describing the ÒLong Island Railroad MassacreÓ on Dec. 7, 1993, that claimed the lives of six people, including her husband, Dennis, and injured 19, including her son Kevin. ÒBut I took the sorrow of that tragedy and turned it into strength that helped press the first assault weapons ban.Ó
Speaking in between a patriotic musical interlude by the Middlesex County (Massachusetts) 4-H Fife and Drum Club and senatorial candidate and current Congressman Joe Hoeffel of Pennsylvania, McCarthy passionately called for Congress to extend the assault weapons ban first signed into law by President Clinton as part of the Federal Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. ÒOn September 13,Ó McCarthy said, Òthis ban expires.Ó
When the bill was passed, it met enough resistance in Congress that its sponsors had to compromise on a provision that would allow the law to ÒsunsetÓ after 10 years in order to get enough votes. Unless Congress brings the renewal to a vote before the current session ends in the upcoming week, the ban will end and the 19 semiautomatic weapons resembling military models covered by the law will be legal once again.
ÒWe wonÕt have to go to Iraq to find weapons of mass destruction,Ó said McCarthy. ÒOnce again, criminals will be able to buy them openly in our communities.Ó
McCarthy took the issue specifically to President George W. Bush, who, during his 2000 campaign for the White House, expressed his support for renewing the ban. ÒFour years ago he promised to sign legislation to extend the assault weapons ban,Ó said McCarthy. ÒBut today he has yet to ask his Republican leadership in Congress to take action and extend the ban.Ó
Critics of the ban claim the law is little more than cosmetic, allowing for slight variations in the modeling, such as the removal of a bayonet mount, to make nearly identical assault weapons legal. Supporters of the ban, including Clinton, believe the Bush administration is bowing to pressure from the National Rifle Association.
When Clinton pointed out differences between Democrats and Republicans in his convention speech last Monday, he specifically cited the ban. ÒOur policy was to put more police on the street and to take assault weapons off the street Ñ and it gave you eight years of declining crime and eight years of declining violence,Ó he said. ÒTheir policy is the reverse.Ó
McCarthy, who believes the ban is necessary to facilitate even stronger gun control in the future, thanked Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry for his support for the 1994 law and pledged her support in his current campaign. ÒI know President John Kerry will fight for a ban on assault weapons,Ó she said. ÒHe shares the values of our police officers, and we share the values of millions of Americans across our nation that know that [the ban] is working.Ó
An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll last November found that 78 percent of respondents favored keeping the ban in place.
ÒIf you believe that military-style assault weapons do not belong in our streets or in our neighborhoods,Ó pleaded McCarthy, Òdemand that Congress serve the American people and vote to expand this ban before September 13.Ó
McCarthy ended her speech by saying, ÒThank you and God bless America,Ó and then received a spirited response from her home stateÕs delegation as she pointed too them and shouted, ÒHey, New York!Ó
In an interview after the event, McCarthy said the convention went very smoothly. ÒIt was very exciting and a lot of work,Ó she said. ÒMy main goal was to get some out-of-state news [on the ban]. WeÕve received a lot of press in New York about it, but a lot of people were not aware that it was expiring.Ó
Jeff Lipton contributed to this story
