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~ES•~~~`~-d ~~ <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMIVIISSIONERS q - ~ ! ~ o~d 0~ <br />la 0.- <br />RESOLUTION REQUESTING CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT. OF THE UNITED <br />STATES OF AMERICA TO REAUTHORIZE THE FEDERAL ASSAULT WEAPON BAN <br />WHEREAS, assault weapons are military-style firearms designed to allow rapid and accurate spray <br />firing to kill a large number of people in a short period of time; and <br />WHEREAS, assault weapons are the firearms of choice for criminals and terrorists, at a time when <br />terrorist threats and deeds have compromised the security of the citizens of the United States; and <br />WHEREAS, the judgment of our lawmakers is in question in making it easier to acquire assault <br />weapons; and <br />WHEREAS, assault weapons have been used in mass shootings including the Apri120, 1999 <br />massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado, which left 13 dead and 23 wounded and also the <br />2002 sniper attacks in the Washington, D.C. area, which left 10 dead and three wounded; and <br />WHEREAS, the Orange County Sheriff s Department supports the ban, acknowledging assault <br />weapons threaten the safety of America's law enforcement officers, having been used to kill one in <br />five officers slain in the line of duty between 1998 and 2001, according the FBI statistics; and <br />WHEREAS, the federal assault weapon ban (18 U.S.C. - 921 et seq.), which expired on September <br />13, 2004, prohibited the manufacture, transfer and possession of semi-automatic assault weapons <br />and the transfer and possession of large capacity ammunition feeding devices (i.e., those capable of <br />holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition) and any semi-automatic firearm with at least two <br />specific military features including flash suppressors and folding stocks and the ability to accept a <br />detachable magazine; and <br />WHEREAS, assault-style firearms banned under the 19941aw, which has expired, include several <br />versions of assault pistols based on the MAC-10, Street Sweeper-revolving cylinder semiautomatic <br />shotgun, and the AR-15 based on the U.S. military's M-16; and <br />WHEREAS, the federal ban does not affect firearms designed for hunting and legitimate sporting <br />uses; <br />NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Orange County Board of Commissioners <br />urges Congress and President Bush to reauthorize a Federal Assault Weapon Ban. <br />This 215` day of September 2004. <br />Barry Jacobs, Chau• <br />Orange County Board of Commissioners <br />