Ashford's gun bill just got more dangerous

From the OWH

Measure targeting assault weapons sent to the floor
BY LESLIE REED
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

LINCOLN — A heavily rewritten gun-control bill takes aim at assault weapons and, if approved by the Legislature, could lead to the banning of certain firearms in Nebraska.

As amended by the Judiciary Committee, Legislative Bill 958 would create a seven-member law enforcement commission to develop a list of guns deemed "inherently dangerous."

The Legislature would vote on whether to ban the weapons for sale or resale in Nebraska. The commission would be required to update the list every two years.

The committee sent the amended bill to the full Legislature on a 6-0 vote Wednesday.

All of the bill's original provisions were stripped out. Those provisions required that all guns be sold with a gun lock or trigger lock, that the loss or theft of a gun be reported to authorities within 48 hours and that people convicted of gun felonies go to prison for at least five years.

State Sen. Brad Ashford, sponsor of the bill and amendment, said he decided this week that the original provisions would do little to prevent another incident like the Von Maur shootings at Omaha's Westroads Mall.

After briefly considering requiring permits to purchase any firearm, whether handgun or long gun, he decided to focus on what he called "military-style" weapons.

"The assault weapons are the problem," he said. "There are some guns that are so inherently dangerous — they have no purpose for hunting. Those are the weapons we need to consider taking off the street."

A representative of the National Rifle Association expressed concern about the amended bill.

"If they want to systematically take away guns every two years, that sounds terrible," said Jordan Austin, government liaison for the group.

Eight people were killed in December at the Von Maur department store by a disturbed 19-year-old man armed with a semiautomatic rifle. The shooter killed himself.

Ashford proposes a governor-appointed commission of representatives from the State Patrol, the City of Omaha and a city other than Omaha; the governor, the attorney general and the Judiciary Committee chairman or their designees; and a firearms retailer.

The panel would define assault weapons, using criteria specified in the bill, and identify a list of weapons that meet those characteristics to be presented to the Legislature.

Ashford said it's possible that the commission would recommend that no guns be banned, but the approach would give law enforcement and other weapons professionals an opportunity to "take a crack at the issue."

"Nebraska has many avid hunters and sportsmen," the Omaha lawmaker said. "We have the expertise and knowledge to set these kinds of standards, and we should set the standards."

The bill describes the general characteristics of an assault weapon this way:

• A semiautomatic center-fire rifle that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine, with any one of the following: a pistol grip protruding conspicuously beneath the weapon's action; a thumbhole stock; a folding or telescoping stock; a grenade launcher or flare launcher; a flash suppressor; or a forward pistol grip.

• A semiautomatic center-fire rifle with a fixed magazine with capacity for more than 10 rounds.

• A semiautomatic center-fire rifle that has an overall length of less than 30 inches.

Antique or collectible weapons with their firing pins removed would not be considered assault weapons.

Austin objected to these definitions, saying "assault weapon" is a scare-tactic term that has little real meaning.

He said a semiautomatic rifle is no different from a semiautomatic handgun; both fire one bullet for each trigger pull.

The rifle, however, has cosmetic features to make it seem more dangerous, Austin said.

"If they can justify taking away the long gun, they can justify taking away the short gun," he said.

Voting with Ashford to advance the bill were Sens. DiAnna Schimek and Amanda McGill, both of Lincoln, Vickie McDonald of St. Paul, and Ernie Chambers and Steve Lathrop, both of Omaha. Sens. Dwite Pedersen and Pete Pirsch, both of Omaha, abstained.