Congressman Calls for Tighter Gun Control Laws

WASHINGTON -- The deadly shooting outside of a Fairfax County police station a week ago has prompted many to call for tighter gun control laws.

Virginia Congressman Jim Moran and Virginians Against Handgun Violence are stepping up efforts to ban 50-caliber sniper rifles.

Congressman Moran has introduced legislation, H.R. 654, that would prohibit the sale or transfer of 50-caliber sniper rifles, and require those types of rifles already in private collections to be registered under the National Firearms Act.

The bill would exempt members of the military and law enforcement.

The Congressman and Virginians Against Handgun Violence are also trying to reinstate the assault weapons ban that lapsed in September, 2004.

The assault weapons ban, signed by President Clinton in 1994, outlawed 19 types of assault weapons. A clause directed that the ban expire unless Congress specifically reauthorized it, which it did not.

Moran says laws would help keep certain types of weapons out of the hands of criminals and terrorists.

In a statement made on their website in March, 2005, the National Rifle Association spoke out against Representative Moran's push to ban 50-caliber rifles.

"Anti-gunners are just trying to manufacture an issue to rejuvenate their gun-banning agenda, which collapsed last year when Congress allowed the Clinton Gun Ban to expire, after independent studies for Congress showed that the ban had been a mistake," the NRA website says.

WTOP Radio is waiting to hear back from the NRA about the comments Representative Moran made most recently on Monday.

(Copyright 2006 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)