Feinstein pushes Bush on assault weapon ban | Sacramento Bee [View All]

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Feinstein pushes Bush on assault weapon ban

By David Whitney -- Bee Washington Bureau
Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, September 9, 2004

WASHINGTON - Sen. Dianne Feinstein pleaded with President Bush on Wednesday to press Congress into renewing the 10-year-old ban on assault weapons and then blamed the National Rifle Association for orchestrating the ban's nearly certain expiration at midnight Monday.

The California Democrat, a major architect of the ban, charged that the NRA is withholding its endorsement of Bush for re-election until the ban expires to make sure he doesn't campaign for its renewal.

The NRA disputed Feinstein's charge, saying that its policy is to wait until after the political conventions to issue endorsements and that it often waits until October.

The ban's expiration will mean that U.S. manufacturers can make - and gun stores can sell - military-style rapid-fire weapons equipped with such devices as high-capacity ammunition magazines and flash suppressors that camouflage weapons fired in the dark.

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