Bush Bars Import of Assault Rifles - March 1989

In the wake of the killing of 5 California schoolchildren in January, opposition of assault rifles continued to grow. The California Senate, March 9, and the Assembly, March 13, passed differing versionsof a bill barring the sale, possession, or manufacture of semiautomatic assault weapons. In a reversal of policy, the Bush administration March 14, banned imports of semiautomatic assault rifles indefinetly. Law enforcement officials said that such weapons were preferred by drug dealers. The Soviet AK-47 and the Israeli Uzi were 2 well-known makes affected by the ban. U.S.-manufactured weapons of that type were not affected by the ban.