A 2004 headline: Gun makers marketing assault weapons [View all]

[CBHagman]

In light of recent mass shootings and the talking points employed during post-massacre discussions, I decided to look up how the gun makers had marketed weapons to the U.S. public and found this 2004 NBC News story. Note in particular the point-counterpoint that concludes the article.

[url]http://www.nbcnews.com/id/5936578/ns/us_news/t/gun-makers-marketing-assault-weapons/#.V2Vy6BJM1Vc[/url]

With the federal ban on assault weapons set to expire next Monday, gun manufacturers are marketing military-style firearms and are ready to sell them as soon as Sept. 14, a consumer group said Tuesday.

“The gun industry is champing at the bit for the ban to expire,” said Susan Peschin, firearms project director at the Consumer Federation of America, a nonprofit association of 300 consumer groups, which released the study.

(SNIP)

The Consumer Federation of America predicted that manufacturers would introduce new models of popular weapons that were banned under the 1994 law, such as AK-47s, TEC-9s and Uzis.

Manufacturers will also be able to circumvent a ban on the import of “non-sporting” assault weapons by combining foreign-made components with U.S.-made parts, the study said.