You may hear of a law that was enacted in 1994. It has a 10-year sunset. You may also hear many (esp Dem) do not want this to expire.

What is it? If you know the answer, you're way ahead of the curve. In 1994, Congress enacted, and President Clinton signed the Assault Weapons Ban.

Why was that a bad idea? Because they banned things that weren't assault rifles. What's the difference?

An "assault weapon" is a phrase invented to make the uninformed believe Congress was keeping people safe from "machine guns."
There is a definition for "assault rifle;" "assault weapon" is a catch phrase.

Why should it sunset? Because the law prohibited importation of semi-automatic firearms which have the appearance of fully automatic firearms. The result was that ones owned before the "ban date" escalated in price. The ones modified to conform to the restrictions were allowed to continue to be marketed.

So, it only banned arms due to cosmetic features? Correct. Once the "bad, evil" features were removed, the commerce continued.

So, we're really not safer than prior to the 1994 ban? No, the law hasn't done much except create a class of more expensive semi-auto firearms.

You're sure to hear more about this as election time draws near. You'll hear from Bill who signed it. You'll hear from Hillary who would endorse keeping it. You'll hear from Diane, who would have expanded it into a total ban (a Constitutional violation) if she could have gotten it through the Senate. The others will fall in line and parrot dear old Sarah.

I just thought you'd like to have a "preview" of coming attractions. Why is this important to Georgia voters? Good question. Because, like many states with large rural areas, many Georgians own firearms. They own a great assortment of firearms. Many own the very ones the law outlined as evil. Georgians, and most gunowners take the stewardship of the 2nd Amendment very seriously.

Therefore, political figures should educate themselves on this issue so they may effectively attract votes owned by people who tend to view this one issue as a litmus test for candidates.

This issue will become important. Educate yourself.

Richard Pickering
Stone Mountain, GA