]The 10-year-old assault weapons ban today, thus lifting the law
]that prohibits the manufacture and sale of 19 brands of semi-
]automatic weapons in the United States.

]Among the weapons that will be available at gun shops across
]America is the M-96 semi-automatic that sprays up to 120 bullets
]in 45 seconds. Another weapon is called the Street Sweeper for
]its ability to take out a lot of human targets in short order.

]Police Lt. Frank Boudreaux admitted having more of the guns on
]the streets could make his job more difficult and dangerous, but,
]he said, assault weapons are out there right now. The ban has not
]been effective, he said.

]"They (criminals) already have these weapons. They get them on
]the black market like everything else they get. The only thing
]the ban did is prevent gun collectors and honest citizens from
]purchasing these weapons. But yes, we consider these guns very
]dangerous," Boudreaux said.

]"I can't believe that anyone would think that having assault
]weapons on the streets is a good idea. It makes our job more
]difficult and much more dangerous. It also makes it more
]expensive. We're going to have to take counter measures in
]purchasing body armor and more powerful weapons. We're doing that
]now to some degree because the drug busts we make, a lot of them
]have assault weapons. With the ban being lifted, it will be
]easier for them to buy and use these weapons," Balthazar said.

Ok I know that the ban wasn't effective in keeping assault weapons off the streets but that doesn't mean we should have an open market. If this ban was useless then we need to be formulating another plan to keep these weapons off the streets. If terrorism is our major concern right now why make it easier to buy automatic wepons in our country. Honestly what possible reason could anyone have to need these types of weapons??

Weapons Ban Ends Today