Tiffany:
In 1994, what was known as the Clinton Crime Bill was passed into law. This crime bill included a provision which banned so-called assault Weapons. And today we're going to talk about what triggered this unconstitutional ban, how it passed, and what we can do to prevent it from happening again. Hey guys, I'm Tiffany, and you're watching One in the Chamber, the show that helps you become a better gun rights activist. And just before we get into this video, I just want to take a second to remind you to please register to vote while we typically use this spot in the video for a call to action on signing up for alerts or letting you know about the latest from GOA. This election might be just one of the most important for gun owners, and with 10 million gun owners not currently registered to vote, we are in danger of allowing tyrannical gun grabbers like Kamala Harris and Tim Walls into the White House. So please, if you're not already registered to vote, your vote matters and don't just take it from us. Here's Brandon Herrera on the importance of getting involved.
Brandon:
Everybody needs to get involved. This is all of our fight. A lot of people are willing to say stuff about, oh my, take it from my cold dead hands. None of that stuff matters if you don't get involved. Now, if you're willing to give your life for it, you should be able to give 10 minutes of your time for it, and I firmly believe that.
Tiffany:
Okay, now back to the video. In 1994, the Clinton administration banned. So-called assault weapons, but how did they get there? Well, prior to the passage of the law, two things were happening. The first was a higher perceived level of violence and crime. Media networks at the time were reporting on mass killings in California and Texas. And in addition to data from the FBI that indicated national crime had spiked in 1991 and second, the newly elected president, bill Clinton had a low approval rating during his first year in office. And the Democratic Party at the time was accused of being soft on crime and Clinton needed to combat both the soft on crime perception of his party and the low approval rating. So he teamed up with, at the time Senator Joe Biden and work to pass a massive crime bill that would allegedly deliver a So-called fix to all the issues at once.
Tiffany:
Clinton chose to include the assault weapons ban in the 94 crime bill. For one main reason, it wouldn't have had the support to pass as a standalone bill. And while most of Congress wanted to pass a bill to deal with the national high crime rate, fewer wanted to pass a law that restricted a law abiding gun owner's rights. Assault weapons were nothing more than a ban on cosmetic features and popular rifles. Even the Washington Post who had supported the ban had to admit that the provision was mainly symbolic and a stepping stone to broader gun control. And after much deliberation, an apparently watered down version of the assault weapons ban made it into the 94 crime bill after a slim yes vote, who called it watered down? Well, that was none other than Senator Diane Feinstein.
Dianne Feinstein:
If I could have gotten 51 votes in the Senate of the United States for an outright ban picking up every one of them, Mr. And Mrs. America turn 'em all in, I would've done it. I could not do that. The votes weren't here.
Tiffany:
Finally, with the assault weapons ban added the 94 crime bill went to the house passing by 40 votes, and then the Senate by 23 votes. Then on September 13th, 1994, president Bill Clinton signed the crime bill into law banning so-called assault weapons with the 94 midterm elections right around the corner. Clinton was excited to turn his approval ratings around and the Democratic party would finally say that they worked tough on crime except the exact opposite happened. The 1994 election was a disaster for the Democratic Party.
President Bill Clinton:
We didn't do what the people wanted us to do. I'm going to certainly bear my share of responsibility and I accept that
Tiffany:
With Republicans winning 54 seats in the house and eight seats in the Senate, Republicans were able to flip Senate seats from Arizona, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania and Maine. Down ballot races were affected as well with Republicans picking up 10 governorships and many state legislators. The 94 midterms were also the first midterm election since 1946 in which Republicans ended democratic control of Congress in a midterm election under a Democratic president. And if that wasn't enough of a statement on the public's distaste of the 94 crime bill, the Democrat Speaker of the House rep Tom Foley lost his reelection making him the first incumbent speaker of the house to do so since 1863. Wow, that's pretty serious. But we hear all the time about how we need to bring back the assault weapon ban because it helped to prevent mass shootings. Well, that's blatantly false.
Tiffany:
The best support of the ban is that the effects were limited and inconclusive, also known as it did nothing to affect crime. But we don't want to say that. And if the assault weapon ban was so effective, then why do FBI studies show that the murder rate dropped 18% with the expiration of the ban. If legalizing so-called assault weapons is as dangerous as the anti-guns claim, one would expect the murder rate to increase, not decrease with the return of these firearms to the marketplace. Some of the most high profile shootings in recent US history happened during the assault weapons ban take the North Hollywood Shootout and Columbine, for instance,
Reporter:
When and shot their way into Columbine High School in Colorado a few months ago. One of the guns in their arsenal was a powerful pistol called a Tech nine. That's one of the guns supposedly outlawed by the assault weapons ban passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton back in 1994. So how were they able to get ahold of a banned gun?
Tiffany:
Meanwhile, the ban unintentionally caused an explosion of interest and sales of the ban firearms increased and likely created new opposition to the law.
Reporter:
The minute it looked as if the ban would pass, people who never thought about an assault weapon rushed out, determined not to let the government tell them what they couldn't have, and bought one or two
Gun Shop Owner:
Clinton. And that administration has been good to the gun business.
Reporter:
Clinton's been good to the gun Business.
Gun Shop Owner:
He's been one of the best salespeople around no doubt. Bill Clinton,
Reporter:
When he signed the assault weapons ban, you're saying that that act itself spurred this sort
Gun Shop Owner:
Of that act, did more to put more farms out there on the streets as far as in the hands of citizens. He accomplished what gun dealers have tried to accomplish for years, and that is to get these sales up.
Reporter:
It was like an advertisement. Is that what you're saying?
Gun Shop Owner:
That's all it was. It was the best advertising campaign you can imagine
Reporter:
Advertising so good that it made 1994, the best year for gun sales in a generation and the best year for the sales of assault weapons ever.
Tiffany:
Okay, so there was an assault weapons ban in 1994, but it isn't in effect today. What happened? Well, to get to the assault weapons ban added to the bill, a sunset provision was attached. A sunset provision is when the law must be reauthorized to remain in effect. Regular viewers of this channel are familiar with our fight against the 1988 Undetectable Firearms Act, which is unfortunately renewed every five years or so because of its sunset provision. So in 2004 when the 94 assault weapons ban was up for renewal, Congress let it expire. Good riddance. Ever since then, it's been a chorus of anti-gun politicians blaming assault weapons for every shooting that happens in the United States. But gun ownership year after year is increasing. Really doesn't seem like law abiding gun owners are the problem here. And on top of that, not only is gun ownership increasing, but ownership of some of the most regulated items has drastically increased as well. According to the A TF in 20 20 12 times, the amount of NFA forms were processed that year. Then the year after the assault weapons ban expired. This signals a massive increase in ownership of short barrelled rifles, short barrelled shotguns, suppressors, and machine guns. Sounds like gun owners really put those stimulus checks to use. So why do you think Kamala Harris all of a sudden has started identifying as a gun owner
Reporter:
At the debate? I'm a
Brandon:
Gun owner. Tim Miles is a gun. I did not know that. I thought breaks in my house getting shot. Yes, yes, I hear that. I hear that. Probably should not have said that.
Tiffany:
Not because she supports the Second Amendment, but because her campaign staff has informed her that it would be impossible to get elected without feigning support to those who own guns. Harris, all the while still supports. Yep, you guessed it. An assault weapons ban.
Speaker 3:
We'll finally pass red flag laws, universal background checks and an assault weapons ban.
Tiffany:
Does that mean we'll see a repeat of the law from 1994? If Democrats control Congress and the White House, it could certainly become a reality. This means that in this election, gun owners need to get out and vote. There are nearly 10 million gun owners across the country who are not registered to vote. If just 3% of those decided to vote this year, they'd be able to swing the election in whichever direction they wanted. So in honor of the 20th anniversary of the expiration of the 94 assault weapons ban, let's not let history repeat itself this November. Let's go vote for the Second Amendment.
Credit: Gun Owners of America