Reply #49: Ban assault weapons for King, Jackson says [View All]

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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published on: 04/04/04

CHICAGO -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson said Sunday that one way to honor the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is to renew the federal ban on assault weapons.

"A shot rang out from a high-powered rifle and Father King was killed," Jackson said during a vigil and rally in downtown Chicago.

The federal ban on manufacturing and importing at least 19 types of military-style assault weapons expires Sept. 13.

Congress must renew it and President Bush must sign it if it is to remain in effect....

For full copyrighted article see http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/0404/05jackson.html

Sounds like a nice, meaningful gesture. But there's a disconnect here: The weapon that James Earl Ray used was a scoped bolt-action Remington 30-'06 hunting rifle, not an "assault weapon" by any stretch of the imagination.

Ray's rifle is now kept at the National Civil Rights Museum. See http://www.civilrightsmuseum.org