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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />RESOLUTION REQUESTING CONGRESS ANA 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 1.3 dead and 2.3 wounded and also the <br />2002 sniper attacks in the Washington, D.C.. area, which left 10 dead and tluee wounded; and <br />WHEREAS, the Orange County Sheriff s Department supports the ban, acknowledging assault <br />weapons tlueaten 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 seg..), which expired on September <br />1.3, 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, Sheet 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 fireazms designed for hunting and legitimate sporting <br />uses; <br />NOW, THEREFORE, SE IT RESOLVED, that the Orange County Board of Commissioners <br />urges Congress and President Bush to reauthorize a Federal Assault Weapon Ban. <br />This 21s` day of September 2004.. <br />Barry Jacobs, Chair <br />Orange County Board of Commissioners <br />