WHEREAS, the membership of the IACP passed a resolution in 1992 declaring that there are no legitimate sporting or hunting purposes recognized for certain semi-automatic, military-style guns and calling for a ban on such weapons; and

WHEREAS, in 1994 Congress passed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which included provisions making it a federal crime for an individual to possess or transfer assault weapons manufactured after that date; and

WHEREAS, this ban will expire on September 30, 2004 unless Congress specifically acts to reauthorize it; and

WHEREAS, if the ban were to expire, all of the guns banned under the law could go back into immediate production; and

WHEREAS, the IACP supports efforts to eliminate the staggering proliferation of these weapons that police face each day; therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the IACP strongly supports legislation to reauthorize the existing ban on assault weapons; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the IACP also supports any technical amendments designed to correct oversights in the original law that weaken the effects of the prohibition on assault weapons.