Every 48 hours, an assault rifle is used to commit a crime in Maryland.
That?s the finding of a new study from CeaseFire Maryland Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating gun violence in Maryland.
Using data from the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, CeaseFire found that 789 assault rifles were traced to crime in Maryland from Jan. 2, 1998, to Dec. 31, 2001.
But CeaseFire officials say the actual number is likely to be much higher.
“More needs to be done to get these guns off Maryland streets,” said Lisa Delity, president of CeaseFire Maryland Inc. Her brother, FBI Special Agent Mike Miller, was gunned down with an assault weapon at Washington, D.C., police headquarters in November 1994.
CeaseFire is concerned that the Maryland legislature has failed to pass an assault weapons ban since 2003.
The federal ban on assault weapons expired on Sept. 13, 2004.
Since early 2003, Maryland legislators have introduced measures, sponsored by Del. Neil Quinter, D, District 13, that would renew and strengthen the federal ban in Maryland.
“Assault weapons are a problem in Maryland communities, and we need legislators in Maryland to take it seriously and take a stand on the issue,” said Susan Peschin, the study?s author. “If you have a legislator that opposes banning assault weapons in Maryland, then you need to replace them with someone who will.”
The most recent bill introduced in the 2006 legislative session would maintain the major elements of the expired federal assault weapons ban by adding 45 long guns that have been defined as “assault weapons” under Maryland law to the assault pistol ban statute.
“In trying to ban assault weapons in Maryland, I hear the argument that they?re not used that often in crime in Maryland,” Quinter said. “This report really puts the lie to that.”
Quinter, who is in a tight race for state delegate, said if re-elected, he will again submit the assault weapons ban.
“Assault weapons are designed for one purpose: to kill large number of human beings at once,” he said. “Assault weapons really aren?t good for anything else.”
By the numbers
Most common assault rifles used in Maryland:
» 21 Colt AR-15s
» 46 USA Military Surplus M1 Carbines
» 55 Ruger Mini14s
» 92 HiPoint 9mm carbines
» 294 North China Industries SKS variants
Source: CeaseFire Maryland
