Clinton Bans Import Of Modified Military Rifles
WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, April 6) -- The Clinton Administration made permanent Monday a ban on the import of rifles that can be easily returned to their semi-automatic, military purpose and on rifles with very large magazines for ammunition.
The administrative order, which would make permanent a temporary action taken in November 1997, can be appealed within 30 days.
During a Rose Garden press briefing with uniformed police officers on hand, President Bill Clinton mentioned two specific weapons, the AK-47s manufactured by Russia, China and other nations, and the Uzi, an Israeli-made weapon. Such weapons, the president said, are not needed for deer hunting or skeet shooting. (352K wav sound)
Clinton said he was issuing the order based on the finding of a review prepared by the Treasury Department, the parent agency of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
"That is why our administration has concluded that the import of assault
weapons that use large-capacity military magazines should be banned," Clinton said.
The AK-47 and the Uzi, he said, "are military weapons, weapons of war. They were never meant for a day in the country, and they are certainly not meant for a night on the streets. Today, we are working to make sure they stay off our streets." (352K wav sound)
Clinton noted President George Bush's administration and his administration both have moved to limit the availability of semi-automatic weapons, but he said there are "foreign gun manufacturers who evade the law" by making "minor, cosmetic modifications to weapons of war."(448K wav sound)
"We are doing our best to say, 'You can read the fine print in our law and our regulations all you want and you can keep making your minor changes,' but we are to do our best to keep our people alive and stop you from making a dollar in the wrong way," he said. (448K wav sound)
Semi-automatic weapons can fire dozens of rounds in seconds from magazines that can hold 100 or more bullets.
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