Reply #198: Which is why the gun industry fought so hard to get rid of it [View All]

[MrBenchley]

There's no better indication of how effective it was than that.

"In the five year period (1990-1994) before enactment of the Federal Assault Weapons Act, assault weapons named in the Act constituted 4.82% of the crime gun traces ATF conducted nationwide. Since the law's enactment, however, these assault weapons have made up only 1.61% of the guns ATF has traced to crime - a drop of 66% from the pre-ban rate. "

http://www.bradycampaign.org/facts/issues/?page=aw_renew

"According to the most recent statistics from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms:

* In 1993, assault weapons accounted for 8.2 percent of all guns used in crimes;
* By the end of 1995, that proportion had fallen to 4.3 percent; and
* By November 1996, the last date for which statistics are available, the proportion had fallen to 3.2 percent. "

http://neahin.org/programs/schoolsafety/gunsafety/awb1034.htm